When I work out, I try to vary my exercise from day to day. Not only does it prevent me from getting bored, but it also gets me to work different muscle groups. When you jump into a new exercise routine or complete a pretty tough workout, you'll probably wake up the next day and be so sore, it hurts to laugh. I love that feeling because it reminds me how hard I worked, but is it unhealthy for your body to be sore every day?
Let's talk about why we get sore in the first place. That feeling is caused by microscopic tears in your muscle fibers, and you can feel the effects 24 to 48 hours after strenuous exercise. As your body repairs the damaged muscles, they become even stronger, which is a good thing. A little minor soreness is your body's way of letting you know that your muscles are adapting to your fitness routine. It's completely normal to feel sore even if it's every day, but if you're feeling severe pain, you may have an injury, so it's best to get that checked by a doctor.
If you know it's just soreness that you feel, it's definitely okay to still work out. Listen to your body though. If you're hurting too much to walk normally, then you should probably skip the run today and give your muscles a chance to heal. You can still work out, but do some gentle walking, take a yoga class, or focus on working other muscle groups instead. Working sore muscles can actually make them feel better because it brings blood to those areas, which helps promote healing.
Fit's Tips: If the pain is really bad, get a massage or take an OTC anti-inflammatory and skip the gym.
Nuovegioie
Alexander McQueen
Phi
I do the whole listneing to my body thing. If what I worked out the night before is buggin me at work enough for me to be in pain, then I won't work that muscle group out the next nigth.
1Thanks for this Fit. Sometimes I've been known to use my soreness as an excuse to not work-out. I think I needed this OK to keep going.
2I love when I get sore the next day after a workout, it means I'm doing SOMETHING right!
3I love it too when I get sore the next day...hehe...also the part about continuing to work out (not the same muscle group though) in spite of being sore is so true...i always feel better...cardio definitely helps with tht too...
4I work my lower body pretty hard with squats and lunges. Sometimes the next day it hurt to walk, so on the advice of a trainer I took a few extra fish or flax seed oil caps for vitamin e and the soreness was not as bad.
Is it true vitamin e helps ease the soreness or is it just placebo?
5Actually, it's 24 to 72 hours, so says a number of professionals. I often wake up sore the next day and know the the day after that will be worse but sometimes it takes two days to hit.
Also, while it can be tempting to take an OTC anti-inflammatory, taking them is not good advise without a warning. Listening to one's body is crucial and gently working the sore spots can help. Taking a pill and then working out can do a lot more harm.
6Working sore muscles can also prevent them from healing. If you do that, they won't have a chance to build up, so you won't gain any new strength. If you're significantly sore it's best to do some stretching and wait until then next day to do a workout.
7Great post. I was experiencing this dilemma early this week. In the end I chose to not workout despite the fact I wanted to. But now I know it's alright to jump back in!
8OH man I feel this post. I started working out with a trainer recently. Whatever muscle group we work, I can't move for like 3 or 4 days after. Last time we did arms I could barely Touch my face! But I feel better eventually. I did legs a couple days ago and went to the gym to do cardio yesterday. I don't know if it was a good thing or not. It felt good at the time, but I'm still sore today. And now I'm sick too (thanks boyfriend) so I should probably scale back a bit. Dang
9If you're sore the next day after a good workout, that's probably lactic acid build-up, which you can help get rid of by moving around with an easy workout like a little slow cycling or jogging.
10I actually like being a little sore from a good workout, and I almost never skip the gym because of soreness. Actually, like a few other commenters, I find that going right back the next day helps loosen everything up.
11The potassium in bananas helps with the soreness too. Eat one after working out and see the difference!!
12that's strange, I've been always taught that this soreness comes from lactic acid that our muscles produce after work-out ect.
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