After a hard workout, you might feel sore and potentially a little grumpy. We all know that feeling of a day after a big effort: wincing and limping around as you try and go about your daily life. With that said, there are many steps you can take to speed up your recovery and reduce your muscle soreness. Keep reading to learn the best ways to help your body rest and recover from intensive training.
Use a topical numbing agent
Believe it or not, there are some products on the market today that help your muscles feel less fatigue when you’re working out. AMP is a powerful lotion that can help your body recover faster, expand past your thresholds, and maximize your training.
Use CBD
CBD is another way to reduce muscle pain. You can even use CBD for sciatica pain! CBD boast tons of benefits, such as:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Reduction in anxiety and stress
- Pain relief
- May benefit heart health
- Sleep improvement
- Better recovery
Tons of pro athletes are fans of CBD like Megan Rapinoe, Jay Williams, and Eugene Monroe.
Avoid overtraining
Another way to reduce severe muscles soreness is to avoid it in the first place. Although some level of discomfort is to be expected when you’re working out or afterward, extreme pain is not normal. If you’re regularly dealing with nagging soreness and even muscle strains, it’s incredibly important to take a look at your training schedule.
Here are some tips to avoid overtraining:
- Focus on different muscle groups: Adjust your training routine so each major muscle group has a full day of rest.
- Listen to your body: If your performance drops during a training session, your body is sending you a signal that you need to rest.
- Figure out your rest days: Based on your weekly training volume and intensity, sort out what number of rest days you need. On a day with heavy training, take the next day off.
Stretch out your muscles
Besides giving your body a proper warmup before diving into your workout, it’s also important to give yourself an adequate cooldown period. During your cooldown, spend time stretching out your muscles gently. Try to hold each stretch for thirty seconds. This will help increase circulation to your muscles and flush out toxins form your bloodstream.
Eat anti-inflammatory foods
Anti-inflammatory foods include cherry juice, pineapple, and ginger. Consider adding these ingredients to your protein recovery shake. Speaking of food, it’s important to eat and replenish your body’s glycogen stores within a reasonable amount of time after your workout. The right nutrition can help your body recover faster and rebuild muscles more efficiently. Make sure that you eat a mix of both carbs and proteins to help your body get well-rounded nutrients.
Ice and heat
If you can stand the idea of an ice bath, it’s one of the best ways to immediately numb sore muscles. Stay in your ice bath for at least 15 minutes to get the best results. There’s also a product called Ice Legs that delivers an ice bath experience, without the ice bath.
After you ice, you can rotate through an ice-heat-ice cycle.
Know when to reach out to doctor
Although muscles soreness is an inevitable reality for athletes and for anyone who works out, there are some red flags you should watch out for. Contact a doctor if:
- Your pain limits your movement
- Your pain increases when exercising
- Your muscle soreness lasts for longer than a week
- There’s redness, soreness, or warmth in your muscles
- You feel pain in your joints, bones, or tendons
Conclusion: Become stronger by taking it easy
When sayings like “no pain, no gain” are commonly taken as fact, it’s easy to push past discomfort and end up feeling extra sore after a workout. But exercising shouldn’t cause you unnecessary pain and if you’re regularly dealing with strains and extreme soreness, consider dialing back the volume or intensity of your training. To recover faster from soreness, give yourself a rest day and focus on getting the right nutrition and sleep. Listen to your body and above all, know when your pain shouldn’t be ignored and when you should consult a doctor. With these tips, you’ll be totally primed for your next day of training!