Tips On How To Relieve Post-Workout Muscle Soreness

They say “no pain, no gain” but that phrase can be difficult to stomach when you’re struggling to walk down the stairs the day after a hard leg workout, or wince every time you sit down on the toilet following a new running PB.

There’s no doubt that when you are training hard, pushing yourself to your physical and mental limits, and getting results, you’re going to experience some discomfort from time to time – that’s just part and parcel of working out, and you'll probably welcome that post-workout burn, at least to some extent. But trouble arises when this soreness stops you from completing your next session, or interferes with your everyday life.

Aside from simply “sucking it up” there are ways you can still train hard, make progress and not get sore. Plus, when soreness does strike, it’s vital you have the tools at hand to deal with it. So here goes….

1. Take a Walk

Much of the soreness and pain you experience after a grueling workout can often come from tight muscles, and chemical waste products left over from exercising. By completing some form of light workout, you flush blood through your muscle cells, which warms and loosens them and starts to flush the waste products out.

Walking is an easy way to do this, but a light bike ride, swim, or even something like a yoga or pilates class works too. Take your pick. Whatever you do, don't sit on the couch and wait for the pain to subside, though.

2. Foam Rolling

A foam roller is a cylindrical tube made of foam. You can get them in varying lengths and densities, but the idea behind them is to get rid of knots and adhesions in the muscle cells.

To use a roller, place it on the floor, put the body part your targeting on top of it and roll along the length of the muscle, applying as much pressure as needed by pressing down with your body weight.

3. Sports Massage

As if you needed any excuse for a massage. Perhaps surprisingly, massage can be an incredibly effective way to relieve soreness. Massage works in a number of ways, but its main roles are similar to active recovery and foam rolling combined.

The pressure the masseur applies helps to get rid of muscle tightness, while you also push blood and lymph through your body to speed up the recovery process. Plus, it's enjoyable to get a massage, and it's a good way to reward yourself for your hard work.

4. Ice

Ice is key in preventing swelling and inflammation. Part of the reason you experience muscle soreness after training is because the muscle tissue has become inflamed after working it hard. Ice works to constrict the blood vessels around your muscles, and reduces inflammation and swelling.

Read More: Sore Muscles? Follow These Simple Tricks

5. Contrast Showers

Forget hot showers.
Actually, don’t forget them, just combine them with ultra cold showers. You’ll often see athletes and sports teams standing under a hot shower for 30 seconds, then jumping in a plunge pool for 30 seconds, which is a highly efficient way for improving recovery and reducing soreness. Rather than install a plunge pool in your bathroom though, try a contrast shower.

Repeat this for five to 10 minutes. You may also wish to ease yourself in with a couple of minutes of warm water to start, and the same at the end too.

Avoiding Post Workout Muscle Soreness

Sometimes the best cure is prevention. A workout doesn’t need to hurt afterwards in order for it to be effective. In fact, pain rarely correlates with performance and results at all, and being sore for a few days after training isn’t necessarily a sign that you’ve had an extra productive workout.

Instead of just trying to cure DOMS, or putting up with it while it makes your life a misery for two to three days, tweak your training routine so you avoid it altogether! Here's how.

6. Avoid Slow Negatives

Most muscle damage occurs during the eccentric, or downward portion of a lift. You’ll find that if you concentrate on lowering the weights much more slowly, and in a controlled fashion, you’ll feel much more sore the next day.

This isn’t an excuse just to drop every rep – the negatives still need to be controlled, but unless you’re training for bodybuilding purposes, or your routine calls for a certain tempo to be used, avoid slow reps.

7. Stick to Your Routine

Many people fail in their quest for bigger muscles, stronger lifts and a leaner body because they’re not consistent enough.

Not only does changing your routine not give your body time to adapt to a new workout schedule and start making gains, it can also lead to excessive muscle soreness and your body thinks you're a noob at exercising every time. 

8. Warm up and Cool Down

Don’t just jump straight into your session – take some time to warm up beforehand. This gets the blood flowing round your body, prepares your muscles and joints for training, reduces your risk of injury and means you’re less likely to be sore.

The same goes for post workout. 

Read More: Soothing Sore Muscles: Massage Vs. Light Exercise

9. Be Consistent

The people who find they experience the worst post exercise soreness are the ones who have an on-off relationship with the gym. It shouldn't come as a surprise, but those who go through phases of hitting it hard, followed by periods of inactivity get far more sore after workouts than habitual exercisers.