13 ways to get rid of muscle soreness after a workout

1. Eat right

Your sore muscles need mainly protein along with carbs & fats to repair itself so whether you're working out to gain muscle or lose weight…

• See how many carbs, proteins & fats you need to lose weight OR…
• See how many carbs, proteins & fats you need to gain muscle and…

You also need to drink lots of water (at least a liter of water a day) because if you get dehydrated then your muscle soreness and muscle cramps will increase.

2. Ice

Ice helps reduce the inflammation in your sore muscles and…

It's best to start using ice mostly in the first 2 days after a tough workout where you think you may end up having a significant amount of muscle soreness to minimize muscle soreness and then after those first 2 days of icing your sore muscles for 15-to-30 minutes at a time…

You can then start to include many of the other 9 ways below to help reduce muscle soreness by increasing circulation.

3. Active recovery

Active recovery basically means that you stay active even though you're still sore but you're not going to stay active by doing the same exact activity that got you sore in the first place - but instead…

You're going to stay active by doing an activity that is a LOT LESS Intense than the activity that caused your muscle soreness so for example…

• If your muscles are sore after running then you would actively recover your sore muscles by lightly walking or…
• If your did a chest workout with heavy weights you can do push-ups using only your bodyweight to actively recover your sore chest, arm & shoulder muscles but generally…
• Light walking or light cardio workouts for less than 30 minutes will help relieve sore lower body muscles while…
• Bodyweight only exercise like push-ups, bodyweight rows and yoga will help reduce upper body soreness.

Active recovery gets rid of muscle soreness & stiffness by stimulating blood flow & improving circulation to the muscles without overexerting your already sore muscles.

4. Rest

Aside from active recovery…

Common sense should already tell you to rest or not do the same tough workout too often until your sore muscles have fully recovered so If you're trying to lose weight…

• You should only be doing 3-to-4 high intensity interval workouts a week while optionally doing light cardio for 45-to-90 minutes the other days of the week for active recovery and if you're trying to build muscle…
• Go here to see often you need to workout to build muscle

5. Massage

Massage works the tension out of sore muscles and if you can afford it…

Invest in ART (Active Release Technique) massage therapy to quickly reduce muscle soreness but chances are your are not a pro athlete so in most cases…

Having a friend or your spouse massage your sore muscles will be enough and if you can't find a partner…

Using an electric handheld massager, a Massage Stick or Foam Roller will be good enough but whatever massage technique you use…

You can massage the muscle for up to 20 minutes to help reduce soreness after a tough workout.

6. Heat

Heat will get rid of muscle soreness by bringing more blood to the sore area helping speed up recovery and Heat gets rid of stiffness while relaxing your muscles and…

You can easily apply heat to your sore muscles for about 10 minutes by taking a hot bath or shower, using heat packs, sauna or hot tub.

7. Alternate Ice & Heat treatments

You can switch back-and-forth applying ice & heat over a specific time period to get the best of both worlds where you reduce inflammation with ice and then you increase blood flow to your sore muscles with heat to speed up recovery and…

• You can take a contrast shower where you alternate between 30-to-60 seconds of cold water followed by 1-to-2 minutes of hot/warm water 3-to-4 times or…
• You can use ice packs for 10 minutes followed by heat packs on your sore muscles for 20+ minutes but whatever Ice/Heat combination treatment you use…
• Always start with the ice followed by heat and always make the heat treatment last twice as long as the Ice treatment.

8. Epsom salt baths

Bathing in a warm bath for 10-to-20 minutes with 200-to-400 grams of Epsom salt added relaxes your sore muscles, decreases inflammation by increasing the blood flow to your muscles and as an added bonus… Epsom salt baths also prevents bloating helping you get a flatter stomach and if taking a bath is not an option then…

Soaking a rag in warm water with Epsom salt added and then placing the warm rag over the sore muscle will also help reduce muscle soreness.

9. Ginger

According to a study where people took ginger 8 days before a tough workout… The Ginger helped reduce muscle soreness by 25%

10. Take Arnica Pills

When 82 marathon runners took 5 Arnica Pills twice a day on the day before, the day of, and 3 days after their marathon race they had less soreness than the marathon runners who didn't take arnica pills

11. Take CoQ10

CoQ10 or coenzyme Q10 is very important for muscle cell function and according to a study done at Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center… You can reduce your soreness by 50% when taking 100mg of CoQ10 daily.

12. Cherry Juice

Scientist believe that the flavonoids & anthocyanins in Cherry Juice is what helps prevents muscle soreness and…

At least 2 British studies have shown that cherry juice speeds up recovery from intense exercising.

13. Cuddle?

5 facts about preventing muscle soreness…

1. You really can't avoid muscle soreness

More than likely you will always have some degree of muscle soreness after a tough workout like Intervals or muscle building workouts but…

The degree of your muscle soreness will vary depending on your fitness level so if you're in great shape…

You may have very little or NO MUSCLE SORENESS at all after tough workouts while on the other hand if you are not in good shape…

You may have to take many days off while using some of the 12 ways to get rid of muscle soreness above.

2. Muscle soreness usually comes after new workouts

Even if you're already in good shape you will more than likely always get sore after trying a new workout or exercise that your muscles are not used to.

3. Muscle soreness usually comes after long layoffs

If you haven't worked out in a long time then you can generally expect to be sore after your first tough workout and…

The only way to prevent or minimize soreness after a long layoff is to gradually work your way back up to the level of intensity you were at before you took your long layoff.

4. There is no need to take Anti-inflammatory Meds for muscle soreness

Anti-inflammatory medications like Motrin, ibuprofen, Aleve and Advil may help relieve some of the discomfort of muscle soreness but studies show that anti-inflammatory medications can delay recovery.

5. There is no evidence that stretching is good for muscle soreness

Stretching may be good for preventing injuries before workouts but Recent studies show that stretching does not make a difference in preventing or reducing muscle soreness.

Make sure you also see…

• How to prevent cramps while working out
• 6 Ways to keep losing weight while you're injured
• How to prevent lower back pain while cycling
• How to stretch & warm-up
• How often do I need to workout?
• Why you need to keep a training log



Type your comments or questions here

Back to Top