11 Ways to Get Rid of Sore Muscles

Sore muscles unfortunately does not mean that we have trained effectively – but that we have put too much strain on our muscles. What helps against sore muscles?

Sometimes our sporting zeal has a nasty after-effect – especially after unaccustomed stress. Then we wake up in the morning after the workout and feel muscles in places we never would have suspected them (pull-up, you rascal!).

A sore muscle is unpleasant but not dangerous. Muscle ache is not a reason to be happy either, however, because it forces us to take a break from sport and reduces our training success because regeneration takes much longer than after a normal fitness training.

How does a sore muscle develop?

Not always, when we have muscle pain after the sports exercises, we also get sore muscles afterwards. The set training stimulus is even good, because it encourages the muscle to grow and makes it even more enduring. Sometimes, however, we strain the muscles too much and thus destroy the smallest structures in the tissue, the muscle fibres. The function of the proteins actin and myosin contained in them, which combine with each muscle shortening (contraction), is then disturbed. Water enters the fibres through the fine cracks. They swell and expand. The pain caused by the stretching is what we know as sore muscle.

So it is micro injuries in the muscle and not, as has long been claimed, an overproduction of lactic acid (lactate) that causes the pain. The lactic acid level, which is increased by physical exertion, also regulates itself within 20 minutes – long before the muscle soreness sets in.

Especially muscles that we rarely use are susceptible to sore muscles. But other muscle groups can also be affected. Eccentric (braking) loads in particular can cause small cracks in the muscle tissue and thus muscle soreness. The best example: lame legs after a long descent from a mountain. But there are also eccentric movements in classical weightlifting: If, for example, we let the barbell down again during bicep training while braking, we stretch the contracted (contracted) muscle. This stimulus has a stronger effect than the concentric one, the lifting of the weight.

Can I continue training normally despite sore muscles?

No. Sore muscles are a warning signal from the body. The fibres in the aching muscle are damaged and an injury must be cured – without painkillers. Those who continue training nevertheless risk additional damage and serious injuries such as very painful muscle fibre tears. By constantly repairing damaged muscle cells, the body also wears out faster.

If the workout was too intense, the affected muscle areas must be protected – the overused fibres do not need additional stress. Next time we should train with the same or slightly reduced intensity. Our muscles adapt to new stresses relatively quickly, but if the muscle aches, the cells in the muscle must first repair the damage caused. There is no time for the muscle fibres to grow. However, we do not have to do it completely without exercise – on the contrary: everything that relaxes the body and promotes blood circulation accelerates the recovery process and gets us back into shape quickly. Yoga exercises, for example …

Depending on the intensity of training, a muscle is only fully recovered after two to three days of rest. To prevent sore muscles and overloading, it is advisable to vary the focus of training and, for example, to alternate endurance and strength training, to do a strength/endurance combination or to focus on different muscle groups.

What helps against sore muscles?

1. Do not exaggerate

After a longer break from training or when we change our training, we are particularly susceptible to sore muscles. Therefore we should not start training over-zealously, but increase the intensity (speed, weights) only slowly. This is also good for motivation, because if you take on too much, you quickly lose interest.

2. Avoid one-sided loads

Always the same movements, for example when jogging, shorten the muscles in the long run, because the muscle contracts during exercise. Better: Alternate endurance and strength training and prevent muscle soreness – this makes training more efficient.

3. The best medicine: Sleep

With sore muscles, our body demands rest – and we should give it that. Seven to eight hours of sleep are optimal. Rest breaks are such an important remedy for sore muscles because our muscles grow during this time. Regeneration therefore helps us to build up muscles.

4. Eat smart

The right nutrition helps our muscles to regenerate, that is: drink enough and consume proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Directly after training, easily digestible proteins and carbohydrates are best – a banana or whey, for example. Magnesium helps with muscle problems or cramps. Wholemeal bread and legumes contain a lot of it, but a tablet will also do.

5. Active recreation

Although we should take care of the sore muscles, light endurance training – walking or relaxed swimming – can even promote the recovery process and alleviate muscle soreness. Alternate showers, heat baths, sauna visits or warm compresses also stimulate the blood circulation in the muscles and allow the inflammations to heal more quickly.

6. Drink cherry juice

Pure cherry juice not only tastes delicious, but apparently also helps against sore muscles directly after training. This positive effect is due to the antioxidants it contains.

7. Training well equipped

Good equipment is half the battle: High-quality footwear and individually adjusted equipment ensure the right load on the joints and protect them.

8. Always warm up well

Before we go into full training, warm up! This reduces the risk of injury and promotes flexibility and blood circulation.

9. Hold back with massages

Too much massaging can aggravate the sore muscles. Kneading stretches the tissue so that the transport of nutrients and waste products in the metabolism works better. This strains the already injured fibres and slows down healing.

10. Be careful when stretching

After a normal workout, stretching helps the regeneration of the muscles, but stretching does not help against sore muscles. On the contrary: following a too heavy workout it can even aggravate the damage. Stretching stretches the already demolished structures further, stretching the muscles provokes a stretching reflex and thus a further, involuntary contraction. The basic rule for stretching is: warm up briefly beforehand and when stretching make sure that the muscles are not overstretched.

11. Train eccentrically

Even if braking movements especially often lead to sore muscles, we should not give up eccentric training. Our muscles quickly adapt to the stresses and strains of regular training. Further plus points: Eccentric strains promote muscle build-up, are easy on the heart and circulation, are less strenuous and allow you to breathe evenly.

Don’t despair if the sore muscles come anyway

Even with the best preparation we can get sore muscles. If we want to reach a certain fitness goal, we have to overcome our performance limits and accept pain. New and unaccustomed strains can also lead to sore muscles, even if we have not completely exhausted ourselves. We still don’t want to do without it, do we? The feeling when the pain subsides is the most beautiful thing anyway …