Am I the only one who loves that sore feeling after a really
good workout? You know when you walk like a new born pony after a leg workout
and can’t sit down without making funny faces and weird noises? It is a
love-hate relationship. It definitely means I pushed my own limits and will be
stronger after right? Sometimes it means other things that you should take into
consideration.
What
causes muscle soreness? It is combinations of torn muscle fibers along with a
lactic acid build up in the muscle tissue. This causes the burn and the
discomfort when the muscle stretches and flexes. That’s enough of the
physiology part; I want to bring up some facts that you should think about when
reading this. Being sore once in a while is ok, but if you’re sore all the time
after a workout, you need to consider changing your routine up. There are a few
things you can to avoid these days of walking like Frankenstein and ensure
you’re getting the most out of your workouts.
Do
cardio and stretching after your workouts. When that burn and lactic acid build
up in your muscle tissue , doing cardio and stretching afterwards help move all
that lactic acid through the muscle tissue and the stretching helps the
recovery process as well. Please remember to never stretch before a workout if
you are still cold. This causes micro tears in your muscle tissue and can
deteriorate your muscle progress before the workout even begins. Ensure your
body is primed for a workout by warming up with some steady state cardio for
5-10 minutes and then a little static and ballistic stretches before it is game
time.
Your
nutritional foundation has a big say in how your body progresses through the
workouts. If you feel like you are getting weaker or you’re not advancing as
you should be, look into adding extra protein and carbohydrates into your diet
when it best comes in handy. The best time to consume a good amount of protein
and carbs is before and after your workouts. Take advantage of the 30 minute
window of opportunity after a workout to get some nutritional building blocks
working for you. Never skip a meal after a workout. That will cause your
progress to suffer as well. Whether it is a shake, a meal or a meal replacement
bar, never skip a post workout meal.
If you
are already doing all of this but still feel you are regressing, tone your
workouts down a bit. Remove an exercise or cut your set total down. This shows
us that your body cannot handle the overload that you’re forcing it to do and
this causes a big setback. An old school saying of,” Less is more” can be taken
into consideration at this point. You don’t have to beat your body down to the
point where you have to crawl out of the gym to get a good workout. It is a
give and take. The more you give your body to do, the longer it takes to
recover and advance from that point. Try this and watch how your plateaus
finally go away.
The one
thing I want to stress to all of you is that you should not be sore after every
workout. If you are continuously sore after every workout, all you are doing is
weakening your body’s muscular system and damaging the immune system. I stress
this to my clients on a regular basis because the social stigma is if you
aren’t sore after a workout, you didn’t work hard enough. In a few cases I
would agree but that is a case by case basis. If you’re sore after every workout,
you will find yourself getting sick more often and easier and getting weaker as
the sessions go on.
So
remember to always stretch and do your cardio after your workouts to help
recovery. 15 minutes should suffice if you’re on a tight schedule. Always keep
your nutrition coming in and do not skip pre and post workout meals. They are
the most important. Finally, do not think you are having bad workouts because
you aren’t walking funny the next day. That is a huge misconception that can
cause some unwanted damage to your body.
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