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Three Ways to Prevent Muscle Soreness After Exercise
The ‘No Pain No Gain’ mantra has been around for decades, and while you might think it relates to the “pain” of having to exercise in the first place 🙂 , really it relates to the muscle soreness most people experience after a heavy workout session.
However, did you know that it’s possible to avoid this pain? You don’t have to feel pain in order to know you’ve had an effective fitness session. Below you’ll discover some of the best ways to prevent muscle soreness after exercise.
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- Keeping the body hydrated The best thing you can do to reduce the chances of developing sore muscles after exercise is to ensure you stay hydrated. The cells of the muscles need water, and when you exercise, you lose a lot of that water through sweating. So unless you top off those water levels during and after your workout, dehydration will occur. This is a big factor in exercise related muscle soreness.
- Be sure to warm up and cool down properly You’ve likely heard that warming up before a workout is important. However, many people fail to heed this advice and do not warm up the muscles before exposing them to strenuous exercise. Not only does this increase the risk of injury, but it will also leave you feeling very sore afterwards. Active stretching is a particularly great way of preventing soreness and has been proven to be beneficial. Cooling down with more stretching is just as important as the warm up.
- The importance of nutrition Did you know that what you eat has a massive impact on how you feel after exercise? Your body needs a good level of nutrition in order to recover properly. Certain types of foods can help with muscle repair, and ideally you need to focus on what you’re eating at least a day before you exercise. A general rule that will help is to consume 40% protein, 20% fats and 40% carbs the day before. On the actual exercise day you should also be eating a high protein, complex carbohydrate and good fat diet. If that’s too complicated (and believe me, I get it 🙂 ), you can always try some pre-made drinks–there are plenty to choose from–like this Skratch Labs Sports Recovery Drink at Amazon.
- Keeping the body hydrated The best thing you can do to reduce the chances of developing sore muscles after exercise is to ensure you stay hydrated. The cells of the muscles need water, and when you exercise, you lose a lot of that water through sweating. So unless you top off those water levels during and after your workout, dehydration will occur. This is a big factor in exercise related muscle soreness.
Try this cool down routine:
These are just three ways to prevent aching after exercise. Of course, it’s also important not to push your body past its limits. Trying to do too much too soon will aggravate the muscles and lead to a lot more pain than you should experience after working out. Read more about fitness here: Fit for Life.
And get one of my mugs for motivation ?️♂️:
