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expectationsforlife
expectationsforlife Posts: 9
in Fitness and Exercise
How can I reduce soreness and pain after my workout without turning to a drug?

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  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
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    Stretch and alternate between warm and cold water in the shower
  • KMSForLife
    KMSForLife Posts: 605
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    Stretching and lots of water. I'm certainly no expert though. Sometimes Ibuprofen is my very best friend . . .
  • CMomma23
    CMomma23 Posts: 132 Member
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    Another workout. I find that when I have any amount of residual soreness, another workout helps me get through. Add extra stretching at the END of your workout.
  • kaetmarie
    kaetmarie Posts: 668 Member
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    I drink tons of water and take a long shower ...
  • Paboes71
    Paboes71 Posts: 7
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    i drink a protein drink immediately after for recovery. also one of my coworkers tells me he puts a little baking soda in his gatorade (i would sub zero calorie vitamin water or life water or something). supposedly it cuts down on the lactic acid buildup - you may want to research that one.
  • daydream58
    daydream58 Posts: 572 Member
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    Warm up before. Stretch after during cool down. And build up to how much you're doing SLOWLY so your body hardly notices how much you're finally doing at a time. Water can't hurt either. My trainer made me start so slow it seemed ridiculous but she assured me she's been doing it a long time and I was going to have to learn to trust her and I'm glad I did. For a CHANGE instead of hurting myself and giving up I actually got to workout consistently all summer long thanks to learning to listen to her and take it slow.
  • jarrettd
    jarrettd Posts: 872 Member
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    i drink a protein drink immediately after for recovery. also one of my coworkers tells me he puts a little baking soda in his gatorade (i would sub zero calorie vitamin water or life water or something). supposedly it cuts down on the lactic acid buildup - you may want to research that one.

    I heard this from a guy I work with...couldn't find much to back it up.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    Warm up before a work out, stretch after, cool shower and stay active.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    Lots of stretching afterward eliminates most pain for me. I will still get that "lead weight" feeling but generally won't be achy. Devote a solid 5 minutes to stretching whatever you worked on (arms, legs, or whatever).
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    i drink a protein drink immediately after for recovery. also one of my coworkers tells me he puts a little baking soda in his gatorade (i would sub zero calorie vitamin water or life water or something). supposedly it cuts down on the lactic acid buildup - you may want to research that one.

    I heard this from a guy I work with...couldn't find much to back it up.

    I'm skeptical of that. Anyway, your body will develop a natural tolerance to lactic acid.
  • willumx
    willumx Posts: 6
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    Being sore is normal, so long as it doesn't go on for days and days. While working out you are (in a way) damaging your muscle fibres, making new muscle burns more calories. learn to love it!
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    i drink a protein drink immediately after for recovery. also one of my coworkers tells me he puts a little baking soda in his gatorade (i would sub zero calorie vitamin water or life water or something). supposedly it cuts down on the lactic acid buildup - you may want to research that one.

    ^ Also skeptical, but something worth noting: DOMS (the pain you feel post workout) has nothing to do with lactic acid. This used to be the belief and it originated a long time ago. It has since been well documented to not be the case.

    Only mentioning this because it's another one of those phrases that gets tossed around incorrectly.
  • willumx
    willumx Posts: 6
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    Didn't really answer your question though, if you are sore for a long time after training then you could be over training. Cut back on you work, also you could try self massage with a foam roller. Stretching will lengthen your muscle but will not get rid of the knots which can cause some aches/soreness. Roll out the knots, check out some foam roller self massage on youtube. Hope it helps, let me know how you get on with it?
  • willumx
    willumx Posts: 6
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    Good words SIDESTEAL!
  • javamonster
    javamonster Posts: 272 Member
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    ^ Also skeptical, but something worth noting: DOMS (the pain you feel post workout) has nothing to do with lactic acid. This used to be the belief and it originated a long time ago. It has since been well documented to not be the case.

    Only mentioning this because it's another one of those phrases that gets tossed around incorrectly.

    THANK YOU!!!!!!! I've become tired of trying to explain this.
  • PBJunkie
    PBJunkie Posts: 652
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    ^ Also skeptical, but something worth noting: DOMS (the pain you feel post workout) has nothing to do with lactic acid. This used to be the belief and it originated a long time ago. It has since been well documented to not be the case.

    Only mentioning this because it's another one of those phrases that gets tossed around incorrectly.

    THANK YOU!!!!!!! I've become tired of trying to explain this.

    I share your pain, should either have stickies or an expert section.
  • javamonster
    javamonster Posts: 272 Member
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    And here is a review of the thinking behind taking bicarbonate pre-workout. It was (is?) a fairly common, but illegal practice in horse racing. Note that it's about wanting to buffer muscle acids, yes; not specifically lactic acid, which the body will actually use as fuel.

    http://www.sportsci.org/traintech/buffer/lrm.htm
  • fakeplastictree
    fakeplastictree Posts: 836 Member
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    I like to groan and whine. Seems to help me.

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