It doesn’t matter how many years you’ve been working out, if you’re challenging your body every week then chances are good you still experience muscle soreness regularly. And while, in a way, it feels good to experience a little soreness as a physical reminder of the progress you’re making, it can be an inconvenient feeling when you’re ready to pick up the iron again. When this happens I bet you’re wondering how to relieve muscle soreness.
Luckily, there are many natural ways to relieve soreness after working out.
Proper Sleep Routine
Nothing new here. Sleeping is one of the best and most effective ways to reduce muscle soreness after working out. However, in today’s overly hectic world, we tend to put off sleep and rest in favor of productivity. For bodybuilders, athletes, and active adults, this is no Bueno.
In fact, studies show that lack of sleep can actually result in muscle loss.
When you sleep, your body repairs itself. Not only that, but it reduces inflammation and helps keep stress hormones such as cortisol in check. Muscles can’t repair, grow and heal without sleep, so it’s essential for both fast recovery times and reducing soreness more quickly.
Ideally, it would be awesome to take a nap right after working out, even if it’s just for 45 minutes, or one full cycle. If this isn’t possible, and it’s usually not, then do your best to get a good night’s rest on a regular basis. Generally speaking, aiming for eight hours per night is what your goal should be.
Essential Oils
Did you know essential oils have been reported to help with muscle soreness? What you do is massage the oil onto the area that is sore, such as your biceps, triceps, quads, or whatever other muscles are sore. A few of the best essential oils to use include lavender oil, chamomile oil, and eucalyptus oil.
Here’s a tip, try out 2-3 different essential oils. Try each one for a few weeks because this will give you an idea of which ones work well for you and which ones don’t. You might be surprised at how effective essential oils are at reducing muscle soreness.
CBD Hemp Oil
Perhaps the best natural way to reduce soreness after workouts is CBD hemp oil. Many users have reported CBD as an effective way to help reduce all sorts of pain and recent studies are confirming the same. The way it works is that you can use a CBD roll-on stick, balm, or roller to massage a little bit of it onto the muscles that are sore. CBD users report relief in a short period of time after applying.
Ice Massage
Ice massages can quickly ease soreness, and many people feel relief virtually right away. There are a couple of ways to do an ice massage, with the easiest being grabbing a few ice cubes and putting them inside a facecloth. Then you gently press the cloth onto the muscles that are sore and move it in a circular motion.
Another way to do an ice massage is by filling up a Styrofoam cup with water. Place it in the freezer and when it turns to ice, then you can start rubbing the frozen end of the cup onto your muscle. Either do this after you’ve worked out or right before you go to bed. On the topic of how to relieve muscle soreness, this is one of the best but most uncomfortable remedies.
Flexibility Training
Why does stretching feel so good after a workout? Stretching can increase blood flow to muscles that are sore. Right after you have trained, try to spend a few minutes stretching. Stretching for around 10-15 minutes after working out can do wonders. Also, it’s a good idea to stretch before you train and during your training sessions, such as in between sets or after you’ve completed your sets for each exercise.
Not all stretches are created equal. Focus on stretching the muscles that are sore. For example, if it’s your quads and hamstrings that are sore, then do stretches that focus on those muscles. In general, there are many types of stretches you can do that focus on specific muscles. When suffering from DOMs, stretching can feel really painful, but light dynamic stretching can fill the sore muscles with nutrients and help them to feel better.
Hot/Cold Treatment
Doing hot and cold treatments is a great way to get fast relief from soreness. Use a hot pad on your muscles and hold the pad on your sore muscles for a good 5-10 minutes before placing a cold pad on the same muscles for another 5-10 minutes. Another way to do this is to repeatedly alternate between hot and cold pads every 1-2 minutes instead of alternating just one time. Many athletes also use contrast showers to the same effect.
Epsom Salt
Finally, there is Epsom salt. The best way to use Epsom salt to get relief from soreness is to fill up a bath and add salt to it. After your bath is ready, you just get inside of it and bathe as you normally would. It’s relief and relaxation all at the same time.
Another way to use the salt is to mix a tiny amount of water with the salt. Mix it in a bowl or a cup before soaking a cloth in it. Once soaked, apply the washcloth to your sore muscles and let it sit for up to 5-10 minutes. Doing this regularly may help reduce muscle soreness after working out.
Final Thoughts
Max Recovery for Max Performance! If you’re looking for faster, more natural ways to recover from muscle soreness, these are some excellent options. There are a lot of other remedies you can try, but many of the ones mentioned here are classic methods that have stood the test of time so they’re worth adding to your recovery practice. Now you know how to relieve muscle soreness effectively so you can start to put these practices into your lifestyle today.
Tags: recovery, sore muscles, soreness
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