If you’ve ever said, “That’s going to hurt tomorrow!” after a strenuous workout, you’re familiar with Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). A new activity, pushing yourself harder than normal, adding more weight to your weight bar: all things that will have you feeling great as you stroll out of the gym, but groaning as you shuffle out of bed the next morning! You can prevent soreness after you exercise by following a few tips.
Pushing your muscles and making them work harder than normal actually causes micro-tears in your muscle fiber. While that sounds like a bad thing, it’s actually good. As your muscles repair, they’ll grow larger and stronger, just the result you were after! While there’s no way around muscular microscopic tears sometimes, you can take steps to minimize the pain and severity of DOMS.
Hydrate
The harder you work, the more you need to stay hydrated. When your muscles work harder, they need more oxygen, which is delivered by your blood. Since your blood is more than 80% water, it’s important you hydrate before, during, and after your workout. Dehydration amplifies soreness, so the first, and one of the easiest things you can do to experience less pain after your workout is to stay hydrated.
Use Proper Form
The last thing you want is unnecessary DOMS because you overwork a muscle due to improper form! While you’re making sure your form is good, also make sure you’re lifting the correct amount of weight. You’ll get better, more effective results (and be less sore) by lifting a 20 lb. dumbbell correctly than a 30 lb. dumbbell with bad form.
Get a Massage
Whether you self-massage with a foam roller, see a massage therapist, or relax into the jets of your hot tub, a massage can help ease the pain! For best results, get your massage right after your workout, before you’re feeling the soreness. It will help relieve tension in your stressed muscles and increase circulation to them, promoting faster recovery, which may head off some of the soreness.
Make Time for Recovery Workouts
Once soreness sets in, you’ll probably want to lounge on the couch and catch up on your favorite shows, but gentle, restorative exercises will be more beneficial than staying stationary. Walking, yoga, cycling, even light cardio will warm up your muscles and increase blood flow to the painful area, which should minimize the soreness and help you get over it faster.
Increase Circulation
As we mentioned, increasing circulation (blood flow) to your muscles will help shorten the duration of DOMs, lessen the pain, and help you recover faster. Increasing circulation sends more oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood to your damaged muscles, which speeds up healing. Increasing circulation is easily done with hot baths, a soak in your hot tub, or by wearing compression clothing.
Sleep
While you sleep, your body is hard at work, rebuilding your muscles. Human Growth Hormone and other muscle-building chemicals are made naturally by your body during sleep. To reap the benefits though, it is important to reach deep sleep and to get enough sleep. Aim for at least 7 hours.
Soak in a Hot Tub
This one may surprise you, but soaking in your hot tub before exercising can help minimize soreness after your workout. The warm water increases circulation to your muscles and limbers them up when you start working out.
Once you’ve smashed your workout and soreness has set in, take another soak! The warm water increases circulation, the buoyancy relieves tension and pressure, and the jets give you that massage you’re craving. Plus, soaking in a hot tub before bed helps you fall asleep faster and sleep deeper, so your body can do its restorative work.
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