? about relief for pain in muscles after intense workouts - need quick fix

wannalookbest

What is your quick fix for Lactic Acid buildup a.k.a Pain in Muscles after rigorous workout? I am often needing two to three days to recover from the hurting. Is that normal? Also I have tried working out with the pain and it just makes it worse. A friend told me that of I took potassium pills that it would help this, but another friend swears that potassium would cause heart problems. I am confused. I would appreciate some feedback from MFP community. Thanks.

Larissa_NY

Going in order:

1. Yes, it's normal for workouts your body hasn't gotten used to yet. It should peak around 48 hours and then ease off. If it's bad, try taking an active recovery day and just stretching or doing yoga or going for a walk. The worst thing for sore muscles is to let them sit. You need to get blood moving through them.

2. Potassium is supposed to help if you're deficient in it, but I wouldn't take pills. Eat bananas. Also drink lots of water and take a bath in epsom salts. Foam rolling helps sometimes too. If you're doing weight training, though, you might not want to take ibuprofen - it interferes with the inflammation that heals microtears in your muscles and therefore handicaps your gainz.

3. This too shall pass. Once your body becomes accustomed to the workouts you're doing, the soreness should go away.

macgurlnet

Larissa_NY wrote: »

Going in order:

1. Yes, it's normal for workouts your body hasn't gotten used to yet. It should peak around 48 hours and then ease off. If it's bad, try taking an active recovery day and just stretching or doing yoga or going for a walk. The worst thing for sore muscles is to let them sit. You need to get blood moving through them.

2. Potassium is supposed to help if you're deficient in it, but I wouldn't take pills. Eat bananas. Also drink lots of water and take a bath in epsom salts. Foam rolling helps sometimes too. If you're doing weight training, though, you might not want to take ibuprofen - it interferes with the inflammation that heals microtears in your muscles and therefore handicaps your gainz.

3. This too shall pass. Once your body becomes accustomed to the workouts you're doing, the soreness should go away.

+1 to all of this.

As your body gets used to the activities you're doing, the amount of time you need for recovery should decrease. Eventually, you'll be able to work certain muscles on day 1, take day 2 off, and work them again on day 3. You'll get there.

Eat a banana, make sure you're getting enough protein, drink plenty of water, and keep moving on your off days if you're dealing with soreness. Doing things like going up and down stairs may really hurt - I'll avoid those if the ache is intense - but I'll get up and walk around for a few minutes to keep the stiffness out. Yoga may be good, too.

~Lyssa

SonyaCele

the foam roller helps, too.

brb2008

I was exceptionally sore this morning, and thought I wouldn't manage a workout at all. So I got to work. I drank extra water today, to provide my muscles with hydration while they heal. I made sure to eat more protein than I usually do because it isn't enough. I also stretched all day, throughout the day. I feel great right now. Definitely rest when needed, all muscles need 24-48hrs of rest between workouts. You should honor this to allow healing time. On your rest days though keep your body warm. Stretch, sprint down a hall, keep moving. I am always the most sore first thing in the morning, andstanding up after a meal or prolonged sitting.

Your body does indeed adjust to exercise, but tearing muscles will likely always cause a small amount of soreness.

Cherimoose

wannalookbest wrote: »

I am often needing two to three days to recover from the hurting. Is that normal?

If the pain is very bad and limits your movement, you're probably doing too much too soon. In that case, i'd reduce the training volume and ramp up slower. If you're trying to burn fat, all that's needed is a calorie reduction.

ninerbuff

Lactic acid doesn't last in the muscles after a workout. The pain you feel the next couple of says is DOMS and is from breaking muscle down (micro tears). As you become more accustomed to exercise, DOMS reduces. It returns when you are inconsistent with resistance training of whatever muscles you're targeting.
Regular ways to help with pain are: epsom salt bath, ibuprofen and moving around.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Larissa_NY wrote: »

If you're doing weight training, though, you might not want to take ibuprofen - it interferes with the inflammation that heals microtears in your muscles and therefore handicaps your gainz.

Actually you don't take NSAIDS BEFORE a workout because it reduces the inflammation needed to "pump up" the muscle.
Ibuprofen is fine afterward. Just don't make it a habit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

cafeaulait7

All good stuff. I'd add ice or a heating pad (I prefer the heat, but I think ice is supposed to be better). And those icy-hot rubs that contain an anti-inflammatory in them are helpful for muscle pain, too. Look for the high content of the NSAID in them (the generic Walmart version in a tube had the best percentages, btw). It's topical, so it's better than taking them orally usually, imho.

I love the Epsom salts baths. But don't ever apply those rubs right after a hot shower or bath. When the pores are open, those things burn in a bad way!

gothchiq

I like magnesiumm supplements. There are also these patches you can get at the drugstore called Salonpas that have menthol plus an aspirinlike ingredient. You place them on the sore muscles. It's not magic but it does help a lot.

wannalookbest

Thanks to all for your advice. It is really good feedback and I have leaned a lot for reading your comments. I tried a foam roller this morning and it was killer. I am feeling a lot better today after taking brisk walks and eating a few bananas.

bioklutz

ninerbuff wrote: »

Lactic acid doesn't last in the muscles after a workout. The pain you feel the next couple of says is DOMS and is from breaking muscle down (micro tears). As you become more accustomed to exercise, DOMS reduces. It returns when you are inconsistent with resistance training of whatever muscles you're targeting.
Regular ways to help with pain are: epsom salt bath, ibuprofen and moving around.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Possibly observer error but I noticed when I ate a little more protein the DOMS were not as bad.

wannalookbest

Thanks ninerbuff and bioklutz. Can either of you comment on whether you believe that taking potassium pills helps with DOMS at all?

GsKiki

Right after workout drink magnesium, eat apples or walnuts. They all help with preventing acid buildup in your muscles.

lseed87

I had some lower abdomen pain from working out. I took 3 days off. I'd take some time but also have something with lots of protein (food or protein powder/both ways). Eating things with potassium and magnesium in them.

Ended up going to the gym today and felt no pain

jennifer_417

One more thing: make sure you are stretching BEFORE and AFTER you workout! It really does make a difference.

wannalookbest

Walnuts, huh? That's interesting . I like Walnuts. Maybe I can incorporate it in my diet for strenuous workouts. Thanks GsKiki.

And as for stretching, I didn't know that you stretch after working out too. Thanks for the advice jennifer_417 and Iseed87 too.

ryanflebbe

Potassium is usually taken if you have a deficiency for some reason. It's taken for cramps, but that's different than DOMS. Lactic acid buildup is seperate from DOMS too. Fish oil might help. It has antiinflammatory properties and is good for several things; it is good in general. Glutamine might help, because it might help muscles recover faster, but it's expensive and I haven't noticed anything drastic. Heat might help. Nothing seems to be consistently proven to work. I think the best treatment is good nutrition and doing a little bit of light exercise with the muscle groups worked. Just working the muscles, getting blood flowing to them, nutrients in, waste out, a few times in the days after a workout kind of seems to help me. I don't get that sore much anymore and can't really tell if it helps, but I think it does. If you try something and think it works, do it. Even if it is a placebo or just your perception, if you THINK it works, and you feel better, does it really matted if it does?

ryanflebbe

You don't need to stretch much before a workout, but you do need to warm up. Stretching after a workout is good though, in my opinion. I forgot about that.

bioklutz

Can you describe the pain you are feeling? Sharp? Dull? Is it localized to a small area or would you describe it as an overall ache in a specific muscle? How soon after working out do you feel the pain?

Can you describe your workout and how often do you do it?

ARGriffy

jennifer_417 wrote: »

One more thing: make sure you are stretching BEFORE and AFTER you workout! It really does make a difference.

THIS! It sounds so simple and obvious but I find doing self directed workouts (like not a class or a dvd which includes a cool down stretch) I can easily forget and it's pure torture the day after! Even a quick stretch does wonders for muscle soreness the next day. Also Im on day 7 of an arm,press up, butt and ab challenge and on days 1-5 (with one rest day) I was sooooo sore. today, basically no soreness at all as my body is developing and getting used to it. I hope this is a useful gauge for how fast your body can adapt!

wannalookbest

Well, I'll be putting all the theories I have heard to the test today. I ran this morning, and I know my GM is going to give us a killer leg workout tonight. I'll be blogging if I feel pain the day after. Stretch before and then after...check✅

rankinsect

Also try to be aware of the difference between soreness and pain. Intense pain may indicate a worse injury than just DOMS, and may need greater rest. To keep DOMS to reasonable levels, build up the intensity over time, don't try to go from zero to maximum intensity workouts in one jump.

rileyes

Foam roll. Hydrate. Foam roll.

mgodfrey0202

DON'T LOOK FOR A QUICK FIX.

Sorry 'bout the caps, but seriously, when it comes to lose weight sustainably, there is no quick fix in food, exercise, recovery, etc. Your body is the sure way of measuring how things are going. These are all awesome advices. As you can see, basically you need to watch how you feel and adjust things accordingly. You may want to ease your routine a bit instead of pushing yourself to the limit all the time. For the sore feeling, do some stretching and some walking the next day instead of taking the entire day off. When it comes to diet, I'd recommend to evaluate your intake first (micro-nutrients) then add/swap more REAL food to add what's been low/missing. You can search keywords like "foods high in potassium" and so on.

As you can see, I'm pretty much repeating what others already said because those are true for most of the people. Fitness is a continuous self education. Take all advices (including mine ) with a grain of salt and look up for it yourself. Make sure you are reading reliable sources (don't tell me you believe in what Dr. Oz says though LOL) and try them to see if they are true for your body. It can be a bit overwhelming first but is a worthy investment of your time for a long term (like, life long).

ASKyle

A foam roller is a great investment, or use them at the gym if they are provided.

Just a thought- I lift different muscle groups on different days. Say, today is legs, then tomorrow when my legs are sore, I will do chest and triceps, etc. That way I can still get a workout in while still allowing the sore parts to recover.

titianknitter

An ice bath immediately post-workout is great on a hot day. Best I ever felt during my first year of running.