Have you ever felt like a set of your muscles or even your entire body felt sore after you engaged on your first workout? Right after a jog, bike, or lifting weights, after which you swear off doing the fitness activity again.
I have met some friends that suffers the same routine, and here’s some facts to why this happens to help you keep going.
What you are feeling is normally termed as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), in short, it’s really just sore muscles. This normally happens to people who are fitness first timers or when you are working out a new set of muscles that your body is not accustomed to, this normally last between 24 to 48 hours depending on how fast your muscle recovers. DOMS is not actually bad, it’s can be a good indicator that you actually DID workout, so don’t get discouraged.
Here are some tips from on how to reduce or prevent DOMS:
1) Always perform a proper warm up. The purpose of a warm up is to gradually increase your heart rate, lubricate joints and prepare the muscles for the taxing work they are about to endure. If you are about to embark on a cardio workout, perform 5 to 10 minutes at a light to moderate intensity to ensure everything is good to go before you’re full steam ahead. If it’s a weight training day, perform at least 1-2 warm up sets for each exercise with a light weight and numerous reps.
2) Stretch it out. Every workout should be ended with a good stretching routine in order to realign muscle fibers, prevent DOMS and reduce the risk of injury and cramping. Perform a stretch for each of the muscles worked, allowing for a minimum of 30 seconds per stretch and remember that stretching should be pleasant…if you feel pain, you’ve gone too far.
3) Eat! Consuming a balanced, nutritious meal or snack within 60 minutes of a workout will replenish your punished muscles with the nutrients they need to repair themselves. A combination of carbs and lean protein is the best choice to refuel with, but save the fat for a couple of hours since fat slows the digestion and absorption process and those muscles need the protein and glycogen stat. Your best bet is something like a post workout shake with whey and berries, chicken breast with a potato or a piece of fruit and low fat cottage cheese.
