Should You Work Out With Sore Muscles?

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It can be really hard to stop working out once you’ve found motivation and established a routine. If you push yourself too hard one day and wake up sore the next, not only does it make your workout routine that much more difficult, but it could also be dangerous for your muscles. Being aware of the pain you feel and working to combat that pain is an important step toward helping you stay safe and keeping your body healthy when exercising..

What Does it Mean When Your Muscles are Sore?

It’s really easy for your muscles to become sore after a hard workout that causes a new type of stress to your muscles.

When you lift a heavy weight, “you’re inflicting damage on your muscle so that it grows,” said Noam Tamir, founder of TS Fitness in New York City, in an interview with Weight Watchers.

The pain you feel after a strenuous workout stems from small tears in your muscle fibers. The healing process of these tears creates muscle growth, which strengthens your muscles, according to Weight Watchers.

Dangers and Signs to Look Out For

One of the main things to look out for when your muscles are sore is pain and the amount of pain you’re feeling.

“You should wait at least 48 hours before working the same muscles that are sore, because it takes at least two days for your muscles to recover,” Julian Ezigbo, a personal trainer at the Geary F. Eppley Recreation Center, suggested.

If your muscles still haven’t recovered by then, you should be wary of the fact that too much pain can be a sign that the exercise you did was simply too much for your body to handle. Something that is vital for muscle recovery is allowing your muscles time to heal, which may require varying your workouts for a couple days.

Tips to Combat Soreness

If you are feeling sore after a workout, there are ways to help combat that soreness.

“If I am sore the next day I make sure to work a completely different muscle group in order not to strain my muscle and give it time to heal,” said Manny Duku, a weight/fitness employee at Eppley.Duku said that he often makes sure to stretch if he is experiencing soreness in order to aid the healing process.

According to Ezigbo, a great option for stretching out your muscles is yoga. Not only does yoga promote an active recovery for your muscles, but research has shown that it can also help improve heart health, reduce inflammation, flight chronic pain and improve flexibility.

Another way of promoting muscle recovery is eating the right foods to help fuel your body.

“Lean protein, but especially casein protein, which comes from milk and dairy, can be helpful toward muscle recovery,” Ezigbo said.

Examples of lean protein include eggs, nuts, fish, turkey and chicken. These types of foods contain healthy fats that are beneficial for muscle recovery.

Overall, it is extremely important that you take precautions when your muscles are sore and have been overworked. While it can be a great feeling knowing that you pushed yourself during a workout, varying your workouts and their intensities is beneficial to your body in terms of building muscle. When you allow your muscles time to heal, your body will become even stronger for future workouts.