When your mind is set on exercising daily and getting into shape, you may be tempted to force a workout even when your body is feeling less than wonderful. After a day or two of intense exercise, your muscles likely ache and hurt. Muscle soreness is expected and healthy. Although it is not always bad to work out when your muscles are sore, pay close attention to your body's signals to avoid injury.
Muscle Soreness
Before learning the proper treatment for muscle soreness, you must first understand why your muscles get sore after exercise. During an intense exercise session, microscopic tears occur along your muscles. About 24 to 48 hours after you stop exercising, your body begins to repair and rebuild the injured muscles. During the repair process, new muscle is created and laid upon the old, injured muscle. Interestingly, it is during the rest and recovery period that your muscles become larger and stronger. As your body grows new muscle during recovery, the area is often quite sore and tender.
When To Work Out
A certain amount of soreness is expected after nearly any workout. You might even experience muscle soreness after mowing the lawn or walking around an amusement park all day. If the soreness is minimal, it is probably safe to work out. As you exercise, the increased blood circulation to your muscles will help ease the soreness. With minimal muscle soreness, you might feel the tenderness when you lift a heavy object or push against the ground with your feet.
When To Wait
If you are still quite sore after your previous workout, consider delaying your next workout until you feel a bit better. If you cannot walk or move your limbs without feeling pain, your body could use a longer break. Since muscles become sore during recovery, continued soreness indicates that your muscles have not yet recovered. Exercising your muscles while they are still trying to recover from a previous workout can result in overtraining and possible injury. If you must work out, avoid using that particular muscle group. For example, if your chest and arm muscles are extremely sore from yesterday's workout, stick to leg and abdominal workouts today.
Considerations
Although muscle soreness is expected after a good workout, muscle pain is not expected. It is important to understand the difference between muscle pain and muscle soreness. If your muscles are sore, they will feel quite tender as you move about your daily activities. However, muscles that are in pain will likely prevent you from performing your normal daily activities. Muscle pain is often quite intense and is likely the result of an injury. If you are experiencing significant muscle pain following a workout, consult your physician before working out again.
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