How to Minimize Post-Workout Soreness

Enjoying a good workout can leave you feeling energized, de-stressed, and ready to take on your day, but it can also lead to uncomfortable soreness that limits your movements and disrupts your sleep. While delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is normal, ongoing pain or severe discomfort can have a significant impact on your ability to complete your daily activities and even discourage you from wanting to continue your fitness goals in some cases, neither of which is ideal. 

However, that doesn’t have to be the case. With the proper tools and techniques at your disposal, you can learn how to minimize post-workout soreness, so you get the most out of your workout, without the disheartening side effects. Say goodbye to the pain with these easy-to-implement tips: 

Use a Foam Roller 

Adding a foam roller to your post-workout routine can help you minimize the pain you feel afterward and aid in recovery to help prevent fitness injuries. Unfortunately, many people neglect to use them simply because they don’t know-how. However, learning how to use a foam roller to massage your muscles is easy and only takes a few extra minutes at the gym. 

Apply Topical Cream

Topical treatments like CBDfx cream can be applied to the skin to help reduce inflammation which can alleviate pain and swelling. Topical creams are easy to use because you simply apply to the areas you’re experiencing in soreness and wait for them to take effect. These medications are able to absorb deep into the affected areas and provide relief, with notably fewer side effects than oral medications designed to do the same thing. 

Practice Proper Stretching Techniques

Many people pass up the stretching portion of their workouts, but it can actually have a major impact on your soreness and your risk of injuries like tears and strains. Make the time to fit in stretching into your cool down to ensure that your muscles receive the relief they need after being pushed to their limits. By including a stretch routine at the end of your workout, you can help your body eliminate lactic acid that has built up. This is important because lactic acid plays a critical role in soreness in fatigue. 

Before you introduce stretching into your workout regimen, make sure you learn proper techniques to avoid doing more damage than good and reap the most benefits. If you’re working on your flexibility, you can also use a TheraBand Stretch Strap for assistance until you become more experienced.

Ice the Area

Applying ice to the muscles after strenuous exercise for about 10 to 15 minutes can help with soreness, swelling, and lactic acid build-up. If you are prone to being sore in certain areas after working out or are doing workouts that are focused on singular areas (legs, arms, back, abs, etc.), you can apply a cold compress to these areas after your workout to help with soreness. If you don’t have a cold compress lying around, you can simply wrap some ice in a towel to achieve the same effects. 

Hyperice cold compresses are made for different areas of the body to maximize the benefits of cryotherapy.

Know Your Limits

If you’re experiencing worse-than-normal soreness, it may be a sign that you’re pushing your body past its limits. It’s important to listen to what your body is telling you, or else you can hurt yourself. If you’re just starting to work out or are getting back into your routine after a break, you should start out lifting lighter and going for shorter periods to give your body time to adjust to the new activity. Even if you are in considerably good shape, jumping into the same level of routine that took you a lot of training to build up could shock your muscles and joints. Instead, go slightly easier on yourself for the first week and see how you feel. 

Use a fitness app like Daily Burn to find workouts that are the right level for your experience and within your body’s tolerance zone. 

Whether you’re new to working out or a fitness fanatic, a little soreness is an inevitable part of working out and can even be proof that your exercise regimen is working. However, there’s a limit to what’s tolerable. With these tips, you can find ways to prevent and reduce post-workout soreness so you can exercise without the dread of facing unbearably uncomfortable soreness for the days and nights to come.