3 Ways to Reduce Muscle Soreness After a Workout
Have you ever started exercising only to be sore for the next few days? I mean really sore! So sore that it takes a week to recover? I recently started exercising after a couple of months off.
I knew from past experience that I would likely be pretty sore for a few days, so I took it pretty easy.
I only did a short 10 minute kettlebell workout.
Guess what? I basically couldn't move for then next three days because I was so sore.
Here's some tips and methods that I successfully used to reduce my muscle soreness then and have used successfully after subsequent workouts.
Everyone has heard about how important it is to stretch.
There are many debates between medical and fitness professionals on when you should stretch.
Should you do it before a workout, after a workout or both? I prefer to stretch after a workout when the muscles are nice and warm.
It's a good cool down activity and reduces soreness for me.
It's best to experiment and see what stretching method works best for you.
This is my secret weapon for reducing muscle soreness: an ice cold shower immediately after exercising.
You may have heard of professional athletes taking ice baths after a game.
This is the same sort of thing, but much less shocking! You'll likely still be really hot from the workout so a cold shower doesn't feel as cold as it normally would.
Just jump in and turn the shower to a luke warm setting.
Then at your own pace make the water colder and colder.
Once it's really cold all you need is a couple of minutes.
It really does work in reducing muscle soreness the next day.
After you've tried it a few times, you'll really notice the difference if you don't do it after a workout.
The third tip is to use self massage.
I like to use an old tennis ball.
Just put it on the ground and then lay on the ball and roll around on top of it.
This works best on carpet and is great for massaging the upper back, neck and legs.
It will be painful at first, but you'll get used to it soon and will feel much better afterward.
I hope these tips help you reduce your muscle soreness after a workout and get you back on track feeling great.
I knew from past experience that I would likely be pretty sore for a few days, so I took it pretty easy.
I only did a short 10 minute kettlebell workout.
Guess what? I basically couldn't move for then next three days because I was so sore.
Here's some tips and methods that I successfully used to reduce my muscle soreness then and have used successfully after subsequent workouts.
Everyone has heard about how important it is to stretch.
There are many debates between medical and fitness professionals on when you should stretch.
Should you do it before a workout, after a workout or both? I prefer to stretch after a workout when the muscles are nice and warm.
It's a good cool down activity and reduces soreness for me.
It's best to experiment and see what stretching method works best for you.
This is my secret weapon for reducing muscle soreness: an ice cold shower immediately after exercising.
You may have heard of professional athletes taking ice baths after a game.
This is the same sort of thing, but much less shocking! You'll likely still be really hot from the workout so a cold shower doesn't feel as cold as it normally would.
Just jump in and turn the shower to a luke warm setting.
Then at your own pace make the water colder and colder.
Once it's really cold all you need is a couple of minutes.
It really does work in reducing muscle soreness the next day.
After you've tried it a few times, you'll really notice the difference if you don't do it after a workout.
The third tip is to use self massage.
I like to use an old tennis ball.
Just put it on the ground and then lay on the ball and roll around on top of it.
This works best on carpet and is great for massaging the upper back, neck and legs.
It will be painful at first, but you'll get used to it soon and will feel much better afterward.
I hope these tips help you reduce your muscle soreness after a workout and get you back on track feeling great.
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