Sore from exercise: How to prevent?
August 17, 2008 - 5:31am
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I am sore from exercising, and it lasts for a day or two. It happens when I try a new form of exercise, and I want to know if there is a way to prevent it, as it hinders my sleep!
During the exercise, I do a warm up, cool down and light stretching afterwards. This does not seem to help prevent it; maybe it helps prevent it from being worse?
Any tips that others have found?
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Are you stretching well before you exercise? I have found that when I spend time before my workout to stretch properly I am not as sore after.
I am honestly not sure what the "right" answer is, as I've heard both stories: stretching with "cold" muscles (before the warm-up) can cause more soreness, strains and even injury. I've also heard that stretching in the exact way you will be using the muscles during the upcoming workout (perhaps during the warm-up?) helps to loosen and "prepare" muscles for the specific workout, and prevent soreness after the workout.
I had a friend who was a boxer who said to ward off soreness from training and bouts, he would turn to bananas. Never tried it myself. Can't vouch for it, but he swore it helped -- at least a little. He said it has something to do with potassium.
there actually is no way to prevent soreness after excercise...there are hundreds of things totry, stretching, supplments, pills, hot baths, ice.....the list is endless....there is no proven way to prevent the soreness after a work out.
Stretching cold muscles can cause injury. It's best to warm up a bit, if even just walking around for 5 minutes to get your blood going, before gently stretching. Flexibility is what helps prevent muscle injury.
If you're not exercising regularly, OR, if you've either just started exercising or you're getting back into an exercise routine, expect your muscles to be sore. After all, you're stressing them, and that's okay as long as you're not trying to push too hard. The more often you work out, the more your muscles will adapt.
You said:
Well, the key to your soreness is that you've tried something new. That's okay, just incorporate a new routine slowly, and not too many at once. As you adapt, your muscles strengthen. Gentle stretches after your workout will help relax your muscles and keep them from tightening up.
If you're so sore that you can't relax after your workout, take an ice bath - really! It will reduce any swelling and promote muscle recovery and repair. Then, apply something like BioFreeze (available via your Chiropractor or physical/sports therapist) that will further promote muscle recovery.
The old saying used to be, "No pain, no gain," but that has proven to be questionable. You should feel a bit sore because you've challenged your body; you should not feel pain enough to lose sleep!