One of the worst parts of exercising can be when you are so sore it makes you miserable. There are a few ways to help speed up the healing of these sore muscles, as well as prevent a lot of it as well.
I put together a short video discussing a few options if you prefer video.
Big thank you to YouTube for always picking the worst screen shots
Or you can read through the options below:
Drink water
The trainer’s answer to everything. It does help to get rid of the toxins (like lactic acid) that are causing you to be so sore by flushing them out of your system.
Movement
Kind of like the hair of the dog treatment for hangovers. Exercise gets the blood moving and helps to work out the stiffness and soreness in much the same way that water does.
If you aren’t working out the next day, at least move around a little bit and do some stretching. The last thing you should do is sit down all day. It makes things so much worse. Make it your goal to stand up and move around at least once an hour.
Recovery shower
Also called the contrast shower. You alternate 60 seconds of hot water with 60 seconds of cold water. It causes your blood vessels to constrict and dilate, which makes the blood vessels squeeze the toxins out.
If you want to try one, do about 4 rounds of hot, 4 rounds of cold, and make sure to concentrate the shower spray on the most sore areas.
Dixie cupsicle massage
If you have any paper Dixie cups, fill a few up with water and freeze them tonight. When you wake up and you are speaking in tongues and wishing you had never heard of me and my exercises you can use them. Massage the frozen cup on your aching muscles and just peel away the cup as it melts. This can be a little messy, so just be ready.
Epsom salt bath
This is the one most people swear by. Just spread the salts out evenly, let the water get hot, soak yourself until you are medium well.
Foam rolling
A foam roller is what some people call a poor man’s sports massage. It is a piece of dense foam, that you roll over sore muscles to help break up lactic acid and scar tissue, which will help improve your tissue quality.
Nutrition
You want to make sure you are feeding all of that exercise you are doing. Starving yourself is not the ideal way to lose weight. Eating protein will help you rebuild the muscles you are tearing down with strength training much faster.
