Gym Aches - Recovery Tips?

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Replies

  • erxkeel
    erxkeel Posts: 553 Member
    stretch more, and add more protein! your muscles are pissed! shut um up with food they desire =) After you workout add 30g of your choice.
  • clairification
    clairification Posts: 71 Member
    -Epsom Salts!!! It sounds like such an old lady thing to do, but they are seriously great. Pick up a carton at your local drug store ( or online) and add a few cups to a bath. It really helps with muscle soreness, especially if you do it regularly.
    -Be sure you are getting enough potasium, magnesium and calcium. Your body needs them to keep your muscles tip top.
  • luvgreen25
    luvgreen25 Posts: 202
    I usually try to drink a glass of milk after a workout. Someone once told me that helps repair the small tears in the muscles.
  • firefly171717
    firefly171717 Posts: 226 Member
    water, and a casien whey protein mixture and more protein filled foods :-), stretching is huge too
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    A gentle workout can help ease the pain from a brutal one. I like yoga for days when I am really sore. The worst thing to do is sit/stop moving.
  • QueenJayJay
    QueenJayJay Posts: 1,079 Member
    It's really just one of those things you have to grin and bear. It won't be as bad when you get in better shape, I promise. :flowerforyou:
  • FionaNiConnor
    FionaNiConnor Posts: 90 Member
    I've been working through some similar issues. The biggest things that help me are:

    Water. Then some more. No, don't stop. More water.
    Bananas. I *hate* the taste, though, so I mash one up in milk and cringe the whole time. But the potassium and sugars help.
    Protein. I love me some red meat, but that's often too heavy right around a workout, so I try to have peanuts with me.
    Water.
    Yoga or stretching or a walk with the dogs on my off-days. Walking my dogs can be a little more, um, strenuous for me, as I have two rather exuberant Labradors, but they keep me moving and it's true that the worst thing for muscle pain is to stop moving.

    Your muscles hurt because to build them, one must damage the muscle a bit. It's the regeneration process that builds and strengthens muscle tissue. You have to feed it, hydrate it, and soothe it after you've given it a beating.
  • jdcraik
    jdcraik Posts: 13 Member
    You note the theme here: pain is good (it's "weakness leaving the body"). Yes, by all means drink more water. If it's still really difficult for you, however, try an ice bath right after you work out. Sounds tough but it works. If you dump a bag of ice in a tub of cold water and sit in it for 5-10 minutes it will help your muscles reduce their inflammation. The first 30 seconds are brutal, but that couple of minutes of cold helps prevent a few days of aches - it works for me after long runs in the dead of winter. Also, the "pain" of ice baths might put the aches of working out in perspective.

    Keep up the workouts, though - building muscle is a huge help in weight loss!

    Good luck.
  • RoosterB
    RoosterB Posts: 214 Member
    It won't last long honest if you stick to a regular schedule. Try a protein shake at the end.
  • Leesseebee
    Leesseebee Posts: 216
    tomato juice has helped me with triathlon over training pain...aaand always stretch!
  • maryjay51
    maryjay51 Posts: 742
    I started a kickboxing class and felt like a train wreck the next day. What helped me was a lot of stretching and hubby gave me massage, also a hot both and some ibuprofen ;-)

    i feel your pain on that type of class lol .... i been working out consistently and very hard the last two years ..just took a Body Combat class last week for the first time where we do a lot of kickboxing and boxing ..it whooped me . i was sore every where. i got a new trainer and he said i need to learn to be more faithful to stretching so thats been added to my daily routine
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    It won't last long honest if you stick to a regular schedule. Try a protein shake at the end.
    That must be what I see you drinking there - :drinker:
  • shockedsoshocked
    shockedsoshocked Posts: 21
    Although there's anecdotal evidence that ice baths work, I'd stay away of them. Cooling your muscles can stop the processes inside the cells, essentially stopping you getting the benefits from muscle repair and recovery. Every got that "legs on fire" feeling the night of a heavy leg/cycling/running session? Your body works best at certain temperatures.
  • Lau90210
    Lau90210 Posts: 14
    Wow, thank you all for the kind and brilliant advice - much appreciated. I have made notes and will follow your advice and banish the aches! :-)
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