Muscle soreness can be a major pain, figuratively and literally, as it hampers your movement and energy levels. From causing major inconvenience in your day-to-day movements and activities, to hampering your mobility and movements in the gym or while jogging or swimming, muscle soreness is something that everyone from novices to seasoned fitness experts faces from time to time. So is it possible to reduce or avoid muscle soreness? It is, and in today's blog, we'll give you 5 tips to help you reduce and combat muscle soreness.
Post-workout stretching: While there may be a debate about pre-workout stretching, and whether or not it is beneficial, post-workout stretching has been shown to reduce muscle soreness. Stretching post-workout enhances blood flow to the muscle, and since blood helps carry nutrition to the damaged and sore muscles, it helps the muscle recover faster, thus less soreness.
Hydration: Hydration is extremely important for a human to just survive, and this becomes all the more important for those who workout. Besides flushing toxins from the body, water also helps in repairing damaged and sore muscles, and also helps your muscles to function smoothly.
Protein: It is a well-known and established fact that a protein-rich diet helps your muscles recover faster. When you consume protein, your body breaks it down into its individual amino acids via digestion, which is then carried to your muscles and your body utilizes those amino acids to repair those damaged muscles. A well-recovered muscle is not just strong but is also less sore, and that's why consuming sufficient protein throughout the day can prove to be highly beneficial to you.
Sleep: This should come as no surprise, but sleeping for 8 to 9 hours is extremely crucial to ensure that your body recovers well. Your body repairs itself while you are asleep and it takes at least 8 to 9 hours to recover not just physically, but mentally and hormonally too. Any fewer sleep hours result in a spike in cortisol levels, which creates a catabolic effect on the body and can reduce your energy levels throughout the day.
Exercising: This may come as a surprise to many, but exercise is known to reduce muscle soreness. Now one needs to exercise caution, and not get carried away by hitting the same muscle group within a day or two. If you stop working out, then chances are that you will be sore again once you resume and that leads to a never-ending cycle. If the soreness is too much, try going light on the weights, and opt for a hot shower post-workout, which can also help in reducing muscle soreness to a great extent.
So there you go! No more excuses to skip your workouts if you're feeling sore. Do follow these tips and our blogs for further updates.
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