There are so many great benefits of keeping a daily exercise routine. However, your sore muscles after a workout may have you thinking otherwise. Regardless of how intense your workout routine is, you would most likely experience muscle soreness a few hours after your exercises. According to the experts, your muscles’ hard work during exercise causes minor damages to the muscle fibers, causing soreness and tension. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean you have to quit your exercise routine! Here are some practical ways to relieve your muscles post-workout.
Drink water
During your workout, you lose a significant amount of water, leaving you dehydrated. Research has shown a link between dehydration and increased soreness in muscles after a workout. This is because when muscles break down during exercise, they release waste products. Drinking water would help you wash out these toxins. If not, these waste products would contribute to an increase in muscle soreness. So, consider drinking a significant amount of water or other liquids such as low-sugar energy drinks, green tea, or coconut water.
Use an ice pack
There are two forms of muscle soreness you would experience after a workout- immediate muscle soreness and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). The former is felt as soon as you are done working out, while the latter is felt a few hours after exercise. Ice packs are an excellent option for relieving immediate muscle soreness as it boosts blood flow in the sore area. If you experience soreness after your workout, place an ice pack on the area for 15 minutes. A cold shower is also effective in helping your sore muscles relax. For DOMS, applying heat such as taking a warm bath or carefully placing a hot towel on the affected area would offer relief by loosening the tightened muscles and boost blood circulation.
Rest and recover
Once you see the benefits of exercise, it would be no surprise that you would be committed. However, you do need a few breaks to relax and allow your body to heal from the strenuous exercises of the week- especially when your muscles are sore. During your break, you can get a massage to ease muscle tension, increase the range of motion in your joints, and boost blood flow. Take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication and pain-relief products such as those from Omax Health. You can also get anti-inflammatory properties such as antioxidants from foods like pineapple, ginger, and watermelon. After a day of rest and healing, you should get back to your workout routine, so you don’t lose the zeal.
Do light exercises
It may not seem like a good idea to move or exercise any further with your sore muscles. Although this may not seem like healing, light exercises help you use your muscles with less intensity and prevent lactic acid from building up in them. It also restores your heart rate to an average rate after your workout to prevent blood from pooling. Therefore, be sure to carry out light stretching exercises or do yoga poses post-workout to relieve your sore muscles.
