How To Reduce Pain After A Workout 

Exercise is something that everyone should be incorporating into their lives regularly. It helps with weight loss, keeps you fit, and makes you much healthier than if you were doing no exercise at all. When it is done right, it will even release ‘happy hormones’ such as serotonin into your body, making you feel great. However, if you have ever been sore after a workout or game, then you might wonder if it’s so good for you after all. The truth is that exercising is always a good thing, but sometimes it can cause pain, especially if you begin to use muscles that you don’t usually. 

The pain can sometimes even come a day or two after the initial exercising, and this can come as quite a shock and put many people off from doing anything again. It can even make general mobility difficult. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to combat this pain after a workout so that you can go about your daily life and get back to the gym, or out running, or anything else you like to do in no time. 

Stretching 

Proper stretching during a warmup routine can help to prevent injuries from occurring in the first instance, but stretching can also help after an injury is sustained because it can help the muscles and joints to move more freely again. It is best, however, to warm up to save yourself the pain of an injury. Warmups don’t have to take any more than ten minutes and can consist of gentle movements such as whirling your arms in a circle and marching on one spot. When you have adequately warmed up your muscles, you will be far less likely to injure them during your workout. 

If you choose to stretch out to relieve pain after your workout, then be careful because you could cause more damage – be gentle and only move as far as you feel able to. Eventually, the affected area should feel freer and looser. 

Keep Exercising 

As strange as it may seem, if you do more exercising when you are aching from the last gym session you had, it can help ease those aches and pains. If the pain is very bad, then you should, of course, rest, but if it is simply uncomfortable, then getting back out there and doing more exercise (even gentle exercise like swimming or walking) is a good thing. You must not overdo it, though, or you could hurt even more afterward. 

The reason that additional exercise can help is that during your first session, you stretched your muscles. This makes them stronger, and if you continue to use them in the same way, you can build up a tolerance. Therefore, you won’t ache so much – if at all – in the future. You might even get so strong and good at what you do that you decide to change your career and gain running coach certification. 

Water 

Water is one of the easiest ways to both prevent and reduce pain after a workout. If you are properly hydrated, then you won’t be so susceptible to muscle cramps or inflammation. Plus, you will generally feel better because you put water back into your body after you initially sweated it out. Water is the ideal drink to choose because many others are dehydrating, including coffee, tea, and sodas (which also contain high amounts of sugar or sugar replacement chemicals). 

Samantha

Samantha hails from Virginia and is a proud wife to a retired Deputy Sheriff and mother to two amazing little boys named Jack & William. A veteran product reviewer; Samantha has been reviewing products for 8 years and offers high quality product reviews with original photography.