At times, a strenuous workout results in muscles that are feeling the pressure. Either they’ve been made sore or have become a little injured from overdoing it. It’s also common with weight training to experience muscle fatigue and pain because the muscle fibers have broken down and will be subsequently repairing for the next 2-3 days (this is the process that makes muscles stronger and larger through lifting weights).
Here are four tips to help both with muscle recovery and how to deal with the discomfort too.
1. Relieve Muscle and Joint Pain
Use CBD oil to ease aches away after a heavy workout session. It can be applied on the skin over a knee that’s giving you pain, a shin that’s had splints while running, or a tense muscle.
The question of how much CBD oil to take is worth considering to get the right quantity to assist you. While it’s certainly not mind-altering, you also don’t want to either overuse it or be wasteful either.
2. Personal Massage and Minimal Stretching
While you can book an appointment with a massage therapist or a physiologist, sometimes, giving your legs or knees a bit of attention yourself works wonders too. Gently needling a calf muscle that’s too tense after a workout to get the muscle fibers to relax is helpful. It’s something that does no damage to the body after exercise and will reduce the likelihood of injury too.
Also, some people find stretching after workouts to be beneficial if they don’t do it too much. It’s often cited as reducing the discomfort experienced the following day if you have stretched after exercise the day before.
3. Take a Warm Bath
Having a warm bath is excellent for soothing the muscles that are already showing the signs of exercise earlier in the day. Epsom salts is one product to consider adding to your bath water to make it more pleasant. The salts are known to reduce aches. Many sports athletes use it and try to tolerate a hotter bath to get a more soothing effect. The added heat of the water almost acts like a sauna, which is found to be relaxing. You can also get inside an infrared sauna blanket that works like a real sauna!
Some Epson salt baths can cause unwanted side effects, so do check to see if it will be a problem for you before using it. The product is safe though and has been used for decades.
4. Active Recovery
Following exercise, the body responds in different ways. Along with muscle pain, you can feel sluggish with your energy at a low ebb. Muscles will start to feel the effects of the exercise, especially if it included weight training.
It’s useful, especially with weight training, to consume some lean protein after a workout. This could be a meal that’s high in protein or by drinking a prepared whey protein drink.
A while later, gulping down a sports drink can return your glycogen levels back to normal, boost your insulin, and get back some energy to keep you powered up. Obviously, for diabetic exercisers, be aware of your insulin levels and what you consume – in which case, the best advice may differ for you.
Muscular discomfort is often just part of demonstrating that you’ve put the work in at the gym or the park. Excessive pain isn’t the same thing. It’s important to not do too much with exercise to the point that your body is responding with significant pain signals. The chance of injury is increased when overtraining and that can set you back more than not pushing quite as hard to get the ultimate calorie burn or fitness level.