Wat do you guys do to...

[Squibel]

relieve muscle soreness?

I mean, I know resting helps, but sometimes I go jogging to relieve muscle soreness. Never actually knew if it actually helped the soreness go away...

I had taekwondo training wednesday and we did squats with another person sitting on our shoulders. I had a guy with a bodyweight of about 90kg, while I'm weighing only 77kg. I managed to do the exercise, but it was hard as hell to do 10 reps. Now it's friday evening and I'm sore as hell, I know the second day is the hardest day for soreness, I'm used to being sore once in a while.
It's my hamstrings that are sore, I can't even walk without feeling the pain :dead:. I think this soreness is going to last a whole while though, so I'd like to know what you guys do to relieve it, how make it go away sooner.

Anyways, I hope I'm in the right subforum, otherwise a mod may move this topic to the right section :punched:

[Swartz]

Just keep doing the activities you do and you'll condition to it.

[Skilzat85X]

Be sure to include some sort of cool down, and post-workout stretching is quite preferred!

Be sure to also take in adequate amounts of nutrients so your muscles have the necessary stuff to sustain themselves.

[Kay]

A Hot Bath usually helps me

[Swartz]

Anything besides stretching has never really helped me in any significant way.

[nin.ja]

30 seconds of really cold shower and then 30 seconds of a steaming hot shower straight after... i think i read it on a dogen tutorial... not sure :/

[Swartz]

Maybe you should give out advice that you know works for you instead of tips some other guy has.

[free2moo]

I have found that staying hydrated throughout the actual activity and especially the day after has helped me a great deal with muscle sorness. H20 ftw!

[Gusch]

Coffee is working for me. Coffee, not caffeine alone.
And since coffee kicks ass, it's a win-win situation.

[Squibel]

First thanks all you guys for the answers. :smile:

Coffee ain't really my thing, here in Europe half the population is a coffee junkie, not me, don't really like the taste.
Well, I'll try stretching lightly, keeping me hydrated enough ain't a problem normally, I drink over 2-3 litres of water a day.
For the adequate nutricients, I'm not really following a specific diet or something. I just try to eat rather healthy (I love bananas) but I'm not really strict in what I eat. Maybe I should take a look at the nutricient topics on the forum.

Does anyone of you guys know if a light jog the day after helps with getting rid off your soreness? As the soreness comes from lactic acid and your muscles have to get rid off it, maybe having your blood flow some more isn't bad either? I'm in an exams period now, so I'm sitting a lot every day, maybe that's also a reason the soreness is more than usually...

[anfeyd]

First thanks all you guys for the answers. :smile:

Coffee ain't really my thing, here in Europe half the population is a coffee junkie, not me, don't really like the taste.
Well, I'll try stretching lightly, keeping me hydrated enough ain't a problem normally, I drink over 2-3 litres of water a day.
For the adequate nutricients, I'm not really following a specific diet or something. I just try to eat rather healthy (I love bananas) but I'm not really strict in what I eat. Maybe I should take a look at the nutricient topics on the forum.

Does anyone of you guys know if a light jog the day after helps with getting rid off your soreness? As the soreness comes from lactic acid and your muscles have to get rid off it, maybe having your blood flow some more isn't bad either? I'm in an exams period now, so I'm sitting a lot every day, maybe that's also a reason the soreness is more than usually...


Lactic acid does not cause soreness and is usually cleared fairly fast after exercise ceases. Going for a light jog can help circulate blood which may get rid of soreness however depending on your workouts jogging may interfere with your performance. Optionally you could do a dynamic warm up on your day off just as if you were going to exercise but only cool down directly after the warm up. It is an easy way to get the desired effect without doing excess training.

[JohnnyRktFngrs]

I've found, personally, that plenty of protein and glutamine help a lot. Also going for a light swim has helped in the past.

[Ashtar]

If this is DOMS, it'll stop when your muscles stop growing. Of course, they may just be repairing, depending on how aggressive it was.

[Honken]

30 seconds of really cold shower and then 30 seconds of a steaming hot shower straight after... i think i read it on a dogen tutorial... not sure :/

It's called contrast baths and it's great for increasing blood circulation and elasticity. It's also supposed to help your CNS recover, why I don't know. I do it after hard workouts and it helps both in recovery and for refreshing yourself.

Alternate with hot and cold showers, atleast ½ min each. Start with hot water and end with cold (so when you step out of the shower you should be fucking freezing your ass off).

[Squibel]

If this is DOMS, it'll stop when your muscles stop growing. Of course, they may just be repairing, depending on how aggressive it was.

What is DOMS?

@Honken: So it's like having a hot sauna and then going into a freezing swimming pool?

[Gusch]

DOMS = delayed onset muscle soreness
Basically tiny tears in your muscle fibers (at least this is the newest theory).

It's what most people just call "muscle soreness" after a hard workout.

[Ashtar]

The delayed-onset means you don't feel it immediately, I think because you get endorphins that block he pain or something, or the swelling from the tissue knitting doesn't start right away until you start going into an anabolic state again.

[Rahf]

I prefer to take a steaming hot sauna after a workout. It is very relaxing and sleeping afterwards is easy.

There are a couple of things that are said to help ease DOMS, a proper massage will ease it by approximately 30%, EAA supplementation is said to help reduce it and contrast showers have anecdotal evidence as far as I know.

[FuRoN]

Quite often I go for a swim, cycle or run after a workout depending on what I feel like, followed by a Hot/Cold shower. Works great for me.

[Final Prophecy]

stretch.

[Jimnast]

If I suffer from muscle soreness, I do what you can find in pavel tsatsouline's fast and loose video. Basically loosening up exercises, jiggling the muscles in question, light, relaxed dynamic stretches, keeping a heavy feeling in your body and limbs, lifting your arms up, letting them drop, etc, I've found them to be very effective.