How to Prevent Soreness After a Workout
No matter your fitness level, having muscle soreness after a workout is a common experience. Although muscle soreness is a sign that your muscles are adapting and getting stronger, excessive soreness can hinder your progress.
Burberry Fitness will push you hard during your personal training sessions but will balance that against safety and leaving you able to move the next day!
Luckily, there are several strategies I am going to share that you can implement yourself to avoid sore muscles and enhance your recovery process. In this guide, we’ll explore practical tips to help you recover faster and get back to the gym feeling stronger than ever.
What causes soreness after a workout?
Before we take a look at how to prevent muscle soreness, it will be helpful to understand its causes.
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) typically occurs 24 to 48 hours after a workout, especially if you’ve engaged in a workout or other activities that your muscles aren’t used to. DOMS is the result of microscopic damage to muscle fibres and the subsequent inflammation and repair process that follows.
Is DOMS a good thing?
It’s common to have muscle soreness or DOMS after a workout and is often associated with having a productive workout – no pain no gain after all! But although it can be a good thing, sometimes DOMS can be too uncomfortable and restrict you from daily activities.
How to prevent muscle soreness after a workout
So, now we know what causes the soreness, let’s take a look at some practical steps to help prevent soreness after a workout:
Stretch
Stretching is probably the most effective way to help reduce muscle soreness and to prevent injury. It’s beneficial to incorporate dynamic stretches before a workout and static stretches after to increase flexibility and range of motion. A dynamic stretch involves moving the muscles through their full range of motion, while a static stretch involves holding a position for a set period to lengthen the muscle fibres. Concentrate on major muscle groups such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and shoulders.
Hydrate
Staying hydrated is a really simple way to help reduce muscle soreness and aid in muscle recovery. Being dehydrated can make muscle soreness worse and extend your recovery time.
As a gym-goer, you probably drink a lot of water anyway, but make sure you drink enough before, during and after your workout to help with the recovery process. Electorate-heavy drinks are a quick way to replenish electrolytes lost through sweat – coconut water or sports energy drinks are perfect for this.
Use a foam roller
Foam rolling, also known as self-myofascial release, is a popular technique used to reduce muscle tightness and soreness. You can release tension and improve blood flow to specific parts of your muscles by applying pressure to specific points with a foam roller. Roll slowly over each muscle group, pausing on any tender spots for 30-60 seconds.
Incorporating foam rolling into your post-workout routine can help reduce muscle soreness and improve recovery. Most gyms should have foam rollers so make use of them after your workout, or grab one to use at home – meaning buy one, don’t grab one from the gym!
Practice Active Recovery
On rest days, engage in light, low-impact activities to promote blood flow and help with muscle recovery. Walking, swimming, or yoga can reduce stiffness and relieve muscle soreness – as well as promote relaxation and stress relief. Aim for 20–30 minutes of active recovery on your rest days to keep your muscles loose and flexible.
Nutrition
Nutrition is essential for muscle healing and minimising soreness. After a workout, your muscles need nourishment to repair and rebuild. Consuming a well-balanced post-workout meal or snack that includes protein, carbs, and healthy fats will replace glycogen levels and offer the building blocks required for muscle repair. Aim for a balanced diet that includes lean protein sources like chicken, fish, tofu, or lentils, as well as complex carbs like whole grains and lots of fruits and vegetables.
Rest up
And finally, don’t underestimate the importance of rest days in the recovery process. Your muscles need time to repair and rebuild after a workout, so make sure you prioritise quality rest and avoid overtraining.
Should you work out with DOMS?
Whilst you can work out with DOMS, you should always listen to your body and rest up if you don’t feel ready to hit the gym again. We’ve put together a handy blog post on exercising with DOMS for more information.
Summary
Preventing post-workout muscle soreness is essential for performance and injury prevention. By incorporating proper nutrition, hydration, stretching, foam rolling, active recovery, and adequate rest into your post-workout routine, you can speed up the recovery process and get back to the gym feeling refreshed and ready to crack on!
Remember, consistency is key, so make these strategies a regular part of your fitness routine to ease muscle soreness, maximise your results and achieve your goals.
Burberry Fitness
Burberry Fitness provides bespoke mobile personal training in the Edinburgh area. If you are looking to improve your performance contact Malcolm today. Burberry Fitness can set you on the right track to achieving your fitness goals.