Raise your hand if you woke up the day after a grueling workout and you could have sworn you thought you were dying from the amount of pain being inflicted on you by your sore muscles. I will assume at least 99.99% of you raised your hand. Which is really weird, because you’re reading this off your computer or your phone, which I’m sure would look really odd to bystanders and onlookers. Put your hand down you are such an embarrassment.
So before we get to the “how” of dealing with post-workout muscle soreness, let’s tackle the “why” of why it happens in the first place. Weight lifting and exercising in general operates on the muscles by means of creating micro-tears (don’t freak out, that’s a good thing!) in the muscle fibers which eventually prompt the body to fix and repair and to make them bigger by increasing their size and adding more muscle fiber so the muscle is able to perform the same exercise next time without experiencing those tears; which is why we always raise the intensity of our workout!
Why is it then that we feel sore? Well those micro-tears prompt your nerves to send out signals which resemble those of pain throughout your body which in turn triggers your nervous system to start funneling and channeling nutrients specifically towards those muscle which now require massive repairs and overhaul in order to be as good as new. Depending on the person, this feeling of soreness can last anywhere between 12 hours and three days depending on how new you are to the whole exercising thing, if it was the first time for you to perform this particular workout or if it was particularly intense.
Now, it’s vital that you be able to distinguish the difference in feeling muscle soreness the day after your workout and the feeling of a torn muscle (not good!). If you tore a muscle, you’re likely to feel it right then and there in the gym or shortly after your workout. You will be in a LOT of pain. It won’t feel normal or something you could just brave through. If it’s a particularly bad muscle tear, your skin in the affected area will turn dark purple on account of the internal bleeding within a few hours. Head to an ER immediately.
There are various degrees of muscle tear which range from low damage that heals within the week to complete muscle rupture which requires surgery and months of recovery. The trick to avoiding this is knowing your limit, don’t push it with extra heavy weights on exercises that put too much stress on your muscles. Have a spotter help you out when lifting heavy weights to ensure you don’t end up crushing your face underneath a barbell. Always, always, always make sure you are performing each and every repetition in perfect form; that is not negotiable. Do not sacrifice form for more weights. Ever.
So now we’ve tackle the why, the how to of taking care of sore muscles is rather simple. First off, make sure you stretch at the end of your workout, taking your time to stretch out the muscles which were engaged during the day’s workout thoroughly. Second, take a cold shower right after your workout, this helps the muscle relax instead of using hot water.
Third, make sure you’re eating a butt load of protein in all your day’s meals, be they breakfast, snacks, lunch or dinner. This is the most essential nutrient your body needs for muscular fiber repair above all else. Consuming whey protein right after your workout and taking BCAAs before your workout or before bedtime can also drastically improve recovery time. Lastly, and this is sort of a given, rest. Nothing will help your muscles heal better than a good old fashion 7 to 8 hour slumber.
With time you’ll find that your body can adapt quite well to handling soreness, eventually the same exercises may cease to cause any soreness whatsoever unless you vary the intensity greatly or utilize new ones altogether.
Pro tip: A professional massage can go a long way in easing any muscle soreness as it triggers increased blood flow to affected muscle fibers; carrying more nutrients and oxygen and whisking away toxins.
Take care, stay safe and have a friend pick you up from the gym after leg day.
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