So you have overcome the first obstacle. You have started working out! Getting your beast mode on resembles stepping on the threshold. A more significant hurdle is what comes after– sore muscles.
Before looking at the remedies, you must know what causes sore muscles. If you’re a novice to the gym domain, chances are you’re still learning. When you put more strain on your muscles than usual, they tend to get sore. Thus, this means that you will be getting results in the gym! Read ahead to find out how to treat them.
1. When Should You Worry about Sore Muscles?
As a gym freak, you must be pretty familiar with muscle pain by now. Sitting down and standing up after a hard-core leg day is no joke! Nevertheless, knowing when to worry about your sore muscles is important. So let’s find out if your sore muscles need medication or simply time to heal.
1.1. Types of Muscle Soreness
As regards muscle soreness, there are two types. To know which one you have, go through the following 2 points.
- Acute Muscle Soreness
As the name suggests, acute muscle soreness does not last for a long time. This type of muscle soreness can occur during your workouts. In addition, it can also happen immediately after.
- Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
The second type is delayed onset muscle soreness. This is also known as DOMS. Delayed onset muscle soreness can occur and last up to 2-3 days. You can generally notice the symptoms after 24 hours of a heavy workout.
However, should you worry about them? Let’s find out!
1.2 Looking for Signs
Wondering whether muscle pain is an aftermath of your vigorous workout or something serious? Here’s a way to keep your worries aside. Looking for the following signs when your muscle soreness persists is wise.
- Trouble Conducting Daily Activities
Muscle soreness after a spirited workout is inevitable. For instance, moving your arms to lift a bag of groceries after a strenuous arm day is not easy. However, if you cannot perform daily activities, then it’s a red flag. Being unable to lift or move your arm is concerning.
- Rash or Infection
If you see a rash around the area of your muscle pain, do not take it lightly. This could point to an underlying infection. It could also be a sign of any other disease. Thus, it’s better to consult a physician.
- Dizziness or Fever
Besides muscle pain, look for accompanying symptoms like dizziness or fever. Slight fatigue is common after a hefty workout. However, if you feel too weak to go through the entire day, then book an appointment with your healthcare provider.
- Stiffness
When muscle pain occurs, you find it difficult to move that part of the body. However, if there is an internal injury, you are likely to experience stiffness and extreme pain. Do not turn your back on such symptoms. Paying attention to such symptoms is wise.
2. Top Remedies to Relieve Sore Muscles After a Workout
It is vital to determine that your sore muscles are not a symptom of something serious. Once you are sure, you can consider some home remedies to ease your pain. Some remedies to consider are as follows.
2.1 Heat Therapy
Applying heat to your sore muscles has been proven to be helpful. In that, moist heat therapy is even more beneficial. To go for this, dampen your towel with hot water. Then apply this to your sore muscles. You can also consider a heating pad. Doing this twice a day yields more benefits!
Besides this, you can also go for Epsom salt. To use it, just mix some in your hot bath water. And lo and behold, say yes to a warm bath and no to sore muscles.
2.2 Say Yes to More Workouts
One way to ease muscle pain is to be consistent with your workouts. Keep that blood flow going! Ideally, you should work out every 24 hours. Say, you’re an early riser and prefer to work out in the morning. Then this should be your routine every day!
Consistency is key in treating post-workout muscle pain. This will help your body bear more intense workouts!
2.3 Good Forms Are Essential
Getting your beast mode on comes with a risk. You are at a high risk of serious injuries if you do not focus on having the right form. For instance, many back exercises result in extreme back pain if proper form is not maintained. So, before you try out any new exercise, make sure you are performing it in good shape. You can go for professional advice from trainers.
2.4 Taking a Much-needed Rest
Although consistency is key, you must know that over-exerting your body is dangerous. And thus, you should rest when your body demands it! Therefore, when you feel weak and tired, you should take some time off. A well-rested body is prone to perform better!
2.5 Compression Garment or Massage
To reduce muscle soreness, go for a pressure garment. Pressure helps in keeping the muscles still. This further increases the blood flow, thus aiding in a quick recovery!
In addition, massages have been proven to be beneficial. Thus, one way to ease muscle soreness is to look for massage therapy.
3. Learning When to Let go
Exercising is a good way to keep your body healthy. Finding a way to love your workouts is certainly a matter of pride! However, excess of anything is bad. If your love starts turning into an addiction, it’s time to take a step back. The same applies to working out. Moderation is key.
Working out when you are over-exerted is never good. Thus, you should learn when to let go and relax! Some signs of over-exertion that you should look for are as follows.
3.1 Time
Ideally, there should be a gap of 24 hours between two workouts. However, the amount of rest you need for your next workout is dependent on various factors. Some of these factors are the intensity of your workouts, your eating habits, and stress. Thus, you should notice these before deciding the frequency of your workouts!
Similarly, how long your workouts should last is also highly dependent on certain factors. Usually, working out for anywhere between 45 to 120 minutes is the best. However, you should consider your age, the time taken between sets, and your health!
3.2 Dealing with Sore Muscles After Workout and Fatigue?
Pushing yourself to your limits is what you are required to do in the gym. And rightly so! Getting out of your comfort zone is the first step to having sick gains!
However, this does not imply working out even when you’re not well. If you feel fatigued and dizzy, it’s time to take some rest!
You could be sweating a lot or increasing your weight more than you can handle. Or you could even gradually lose interest in working out. Trying out different ways to stay active might help! Either way, getting professional advice is judicious.
3.3 Relieving Sore Muscles After Workout on Sleepless Nights?
Another sign that borders on unhealthy obsession is spending sleepless nights post-workout. Workouts are supposed to make you feel healthier and stronger. Pay attention if you feel the opposite.
Thinking about working out next is not bad. But if this is disrupting your sleep pattern, then something is wrong. Moreover, sometimes extreme tiredness can also cause insomnia. Thus, if you’re having many sleepless nights in a row, know that you have to take a step back!
3.4 Mood Swings
A healthy body is a happy body. Improving your health should be followed by a good mood. If this is not your case, then stop. Constant frustration, anger, and irritation are usually a sign of weakness. And if working out is making you weak, then you’re not doing it right!
Frequently resorting to anger indicates that you are probably over-exerting yourself in the gym. Heavy workouts do not suit everyone. Starting in moderation is vital. Moreover, you can try going for light cardio. A light jog in nature would do wonders to improve your mood!
3.5 Low Immunity
Before considering how to relieve sore muscles after a workout, knowing a major sign of over-exertion as low immunity is important. This is not only characterized by fatigue or weariness. However, you might notice yourself constantly getting sick. Catching a cold and cough or a high fever frequently indicates low immunity.
While getting professional help is recommended, improve your diet. Go for anti-inflammatory food. Including greens and fruits in your meals would do you good!
4. Final Words
As a novice, working out can be quite tricky and intimidating. You cannot achieve marvellous results overnight. Thus, patience and consistency are imperative! Look for what is right for your body. You can take a rest or consider continuing to work out.
Moreover, you can go for heat therapy. Taking a day off and considering a massage is not too bad either! Moreover, you can also look for compression garments to relieve sore muscles. Nevertheless, maintaining good form during workouts and getting all the nutrients are essential.
Last Updated on December 22, 2023 by soubhik92@gmail.com
