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Exercising regularly is a crucial aspect of maintaining a fit and active body. The benefits include healthier organs, like the lungs and heart, and more robust skeletal and muscular systems.
However, working out leads to muscle soreness. This is normal if you start a new workout routine or ramp up the intensity of an existing one.
Learn how to reduce muscle damage when working out.
Table of Contents
Slowly Start Your Workout Routine
A slow and steady increase in intensity is the best way to avoid injury. Treat yourself gently and slowly. Many people may have fond memories of their younger selves and believe they may revert to that state effortlessly.
It’s important to ease back into exercise, whether preparing for a marathon or getting back into basketball after a long break.
Hydrate
It’s probably obvious, but drinking enough water helps your muscles recover faster. Water helps your body’s fluids move around, which reduces swelling, eliminates toxins, and carries essential nutrients to your tissues.
The problem is that it’s not always obvious when you’re drained; you’ve probably already reached dehydration when you start to feel thirsty. You can tell a lot from the shade of your urine. If your urine is a moderate or dark shade of yellow, you need to drink more water.
Use a Foam or Massage Gun
To aid in the movement of fluids that collect in the tissues after a workout, self-myofascial discharge (SMR) is a mechanism used to alleviate tension in connective tissues and muscles.
Consider starting out with a softer foam roller if you’re curious about trying one. Harder foam rollers allow for greater pressure to be applied, but they can be pretty uncomfortable for those who aren’t used to using them.
Lacrosse balls are beneficial to have on hand because they can be used to massage the lats, calves, glutes, and iliotibial (IT) bands, which are notoriously difficult to access.
The use of massage guns after an exercise is widespread because of their beneficial effect on muscle rehabilitation.
Self-massage tools that use percussion have a comparable effect to traditional massage. Whenever you lay one of these handheld devices on sore muscles, it will vibrate rapidly, increasing the area’s blood circulation.
Numerous massage guns have interchangeable attachments for focusing on specific muscle areas. It’s possible that massage guns, which incorporate components of both traditional massage and vibratory treatment, could offer beneficial effects.
Eat in a Half Hour Following an Intense Workout
Carbs play a leading role in replacing the energy stores your tissues used up throughout your activity, while protein is essential for the amino acids required to rebuild your tissues.
You should be eating healthily throughout the day, not just the post-workout snacks. It is essential to prioritize breakfasts and maintain a somewhat everyday protein consumption to ensure that your tissues receive a regular supply of amino acids during the day.
And not only is your post-workout diet important, but what you consume before a workout is also important. Supplements like a pre-workout powder can decrease workout fatigue and improve your physical performance.
Do Recovery Workouts
Feel free to lower the volume every once in a while. Light recovery exercises boost blood flow, facilitating lymphatic drainage, the movement of immune cells, and the clearance of inflammatory processes.
Adopt an Eccentric Exercise
Exercising your muscles increases the likelihood that you may experience muscular soreness. The “down motion” of the biceps is an example of an eccentric contraction, in which the muscle lengthens under stress. Eccentric exercise also includes walking or jogging downhill. Raising the bar is the way to go.
Conclusion
Muscle discomfort is normal when beginning an exercise program, especially if you’re more accustomed to watching from afar than completing a marathon. However, you shouldn’t let soreness in your muscles deter you.
Also, first-time exercisers often report feeling discomfort in their muscles. However, your muscles will become stronger, and you will experience less muscle soreness as you exercise regularly.
