Sticking to a new exercise routine can take a lot of willpower. Of course, you know that you’ll feel fantastic for having gone on that run, attended that class, or lifted those weights, but that doesn’t make it any easier to ignore the voice in your head telling you to just have a nice sit down instead.
It’s particularly difficult to stick to exercise if your muscles are still aching from the last time.
Aching muscles are a normal part of exercising, and in some cases, they can continue to feel sore for up to three days after you worked out as the muscles repair and rebuild themselves.
Read on to find out what you can do to soothe aching muscles and keep up your exercise routine.
Gentle stretching
Every time you finish a workout, it’s important to take the time to stretch. Stretching after exercise helps to relax muscles that have become tense during your workout, which will help to reduce muscle pain.
Stretching also helps to prevent the build-up of lactic acid. Lactic acid is produced whenever you exercise, and if you don’t stretch properly, it will collect on your muscles, causing aching and soreness.
Stretching can also be helpful the day after exercise, as your muscles can sometimes tense up again over time.
Creams and gels
There are various topical creams and gels available from your pharmacist which can help with sore muscles. Gels and creams containing menthol or capsaicin can be particularly effective.
It’s also possible to get a topical muscle rub from Simply CBD, which is meant to help ease muscle soreness as a traditional tiger balm would, but with added CBD. However, there’s no strong evidence to support the effectiveness of CBD for muscle soreness, and you must consult with your doctor before trying any CBD product.
Ice
Ice can help to reduce inflammation, so it can be a good way of improving muscle soreness. It also promotes faster recovery, which is why you’ll see athletes taking ice baths on occasion!
Recovery exercise
Gentle exercise can be a good way to ease muscle pain, although it might feel counter-intuitive. This is because by doing gentle exercise, you encourage the flow of blood to the muscles, which can help them recover more quickly.
Gentle exercise also helps to break up lactic acid.
Vary the muscle groups
If you want to work out every day and muscle soreness is holding you back, you could try structuring your workout routine to work with a different muscle group each time.
So, for example, if one day you go for a run, your workout the next day could be focused on your upper body, doing something like lifting weights.
This gives each muscle group time to recover and means that you can still reach your goals.
Drink water
Exercise dehydrates you because you sweat so much, and you must drink enough water to replace the fluids that you have lost.
Water helps your muscles to function as they should and helps prevent things like cramping.