Why You’re Sore After A Workout And What To Do About It

We’ve all been there… it’s the day after you went all out on a really good workout and you can barely walk or lift your arms. Every move is torture and you’re beginning to feel your coworkers’ sideways glances at you because of all the moaning and groaning going on every time you have to get up out of your chair. The soreness is almost bad enough to make you want to give up working out… almost.

This soreness is known as delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS. It’s caused by tiny tears in the muscles which will be healed up and rebuilt by your body which is what gives you more muscle tissue (yay!). DOMS usually occurs more severely in those that are not used to exercise. Which is good, because it means that the more you workout, the less sore you will be the day after.

There are three ways to deal with DOMS:

Warm Bath With Epsom Salts

Epsom salts contain magnesium. When you sit in a warm bath with them, your body absorbs the magnesium which may help relieve sore muscles. Make sure you’re using enough Epsom salts, a standard size bath tub requires about two cups.

Rest Day

If your muscles are extremely sore, you may want to take a rest day. The most important thing is to listen to your body, if it’s telling you to take it easy, then take it easy.

Work It Out

My personal trick for relieving DOMS is another workout. It may seem counterproductive, but it really works. The next time you’re sore, instead of taking a rest day, HIIT it hard and you’ll notice that your DOMS has subsided by the next day.

Photo from Zilla Fitness

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