A little bit of muscle soreness after fitness training can be normal as we gently push our bodies to become stronger and healthier; it can be mild or even non-existent some days and more significant on others depending on the intensity of the workout.
As long as you are performing exercises correctly, there is nothing to worry about with some muscle soreness that resolves itself in a short time.
Yet the more you know about why it happens and what can be done to prevent it, the less you will be bothered by muscle soreness in your fitness training.
What Causes Muscle Soreness?
Muscle soreness is caused when tiny muscle fibers get strained or torn during a fitness training workout.
It is a catch-22, since slight over-exertion is what builds progress, but at the same time it can result in a few damaged muscle fibers.
Those torn fibers will grow back stronger, adding to your progress. While creating soreness is not necessarily a goal after every workout, it can be a positive sign.
What Can Minimize Muscle Soreness?
Soreness is uncomfortable, but there are things you can do to minimize the soreness after your fitness training workout:
- Stay Hydrated - Hydration helps the muscles work better, reducing the damage to muscle fibers during a workout and helping them repair faster; hydrate during and after the workout for greatest benefits.
- Gently Stretch Afterward - Easy warmups like walking before a workout are great, but gentle stretching exercises done afterward help more to prevent soreness later.
- Massage Gun or Foam Roller - After your workout, use a massage gun for some soothing self-myofascial release (SMR) to loosen muscles and promote distribution of fluids through the muscle fibers.
- Eat Afterward - Eating protein and carbs within 30 minutes of an intense workout helps provide the nutrients necessary for muscle repair to immediately begin.
- Get Good Sleep - Quality, comfortable sleep is essential for bodies undergoing their physical repair phases.
- Light Workouts The Day After - Keeping the muscles moving will reduce soreness the next day; light exercises like walking, swimming, and cycling or gentle resistance training are suggested.
- Avoid Taking NSAIDs - Mild inflammation plays a key role in muscle rebuilding; taking an NSAID might make you feel less sore but it will impede your fitness progress.
Muscle Soreness Can Be Beneficial
If you experience some soreness after fitness training, this is not just normal, but beneficial; general soreness is not a bad thing and should dissipate in a day or so.
Let these tips help you get the most from your fitness workouts without worry!