How to relieve muscle pain after a workout

Currently, a huge number of people are watching their figure and the state of the body as a whole: someone goes to the pool, someone goes to the gym or fitness center, and someone goes in for sports. And in any case, a quality training is usually accompanied by the appearance of muscle pain of a different nature. So, it should be divided:

• Unpleasant pulling sensations, fettering movements that appeared after the first training;
• Feeling overwhelmed and showing local fatigue.

Muscle growth, as you know, is impossible without partial destruction: when a person experiences a certain load, they are in constant tension, and old, unstable, bonds (fibers) literally break. The lactic acid arriving at the site of destruction in this case plays the role of an antioxidant: in fact, being the result of various metabolic processes in the body, it speeds up the process of tissue regeneration and regeneration, but at the same time it gives a feeling of strength and general clogging; It is precisely due to the well-established process of building material and acid intake and its withdrawal that the increase in muscle volume occurs.

It is necessary to distinguish the sensations mentioned above for the following reason: physical activity is obviously more difficult for a novice in the game and gym or pool than for a person who is regularly engaged. The muscles of the latter are used to loads of this kind, therefore, in the body, firstly, the process of producing a certain amount of lactic acid and its timely withdrawal has been established, which, in turn, gives strength faster, and secondly, the muscles are not completely depleted.

That is why all beginners should always first work out in the gym with small weights, swim approximately half their maximum and spend less time on the playground. After the muscles are adapted to regular exercise, weights can be increased.

But muscle pain will still appear quite often, and this is a normal phenomenon. It is important to know how to remove it after training. There are several ways, on each of which it is necessary to focus on:

• The adoption of water procedures;
• Visit to the bath;
• Massage;
• Stretching;
• The use of ointments, creams and other means.

Each method of relieving muscle pain has its advantages, and the choice of a particular method is purely individual.

Water treatment

One of the most common methods among a huge number of athletes - bodybuilders, soccer players, basketball players, biathletes - the adoption of water procedures. However, in this area a dispute has been going on for about 15 years: what exactly should the water temperature be - high or low.

Recent trends in world sports, however, clearly indicate that most athletes resort to a cold shower or cryovannah to recover.

By the way, cold water, according to the chief physiotherapist of the Wales national football team, reduces muscle pain by forcibly accelerating blood circulation: the body, getting into a cold environment, is forced to generate more heat in order to maintain the temperature necessary for its normal functioning at 36.6 degrees, because all processes instantly activated.

In particular, this contributes to the flow of all necessary substances to the affected muscles and their groups.

At the same time, the personal trainer of basketball player LeBron James admitted in an interview that he forces his ward to take a contrast shower, which, coupled with a cold one, contributes much more to the activation of all mechanisms of the body's recovery.

If for some reason there is no shower in the gym or it is impossible to visit, then you can take such a bath at home: just pour water into a medium temperature bath, then put a few ice packs on it, and then begin to gently immerse yourself in water. The optimal time for taking a contrast shower is 8-10 minutes, and a cold bath is 5 minutes.

Russian and Roman baths

This method is suitable only for those people who have a Russian bathhouse (or a Roman bathhouse) located simultaneously in the building of a gym or a playground. Obviously, only a visit to such a bath will take effect, in the room of which there are either really very elevated temperatures, or a sufficient balance of temperature and humidity.

The Russian bath, as you know, must be combined with the subsequent reception of a cold shower or bath for a short time. Actually, all the benefits of contrasting temperatures have already been described above. However, most amateur athletes undeservedly bypass the Roman bath, although it is not the worst means of recovery.

The fact is that the Roman bath, although it has lower (compared with the Russian) temperature values, wins due to the humidity parameter. Its combination with a temperature of 40-50 degrees makes staying more than 5-7 minutes inside the bathhouse simply impossible: the body becomes so hot and unbearable.

After visiting the Roman bath, it is again desirable to take a cold shower (or pour a few tubs of cold water on yourself).

Massage

General warming up of muscles, soreness of areas surrounding damaged muscles and competent influence on certain parts of the human body favorably affect blood flow to previously loaded muscles and injured fibers. Most professional masseurs recommend the use of various essential oils that have a warming and calming effect (it is especially worth highlighting olive oil).

Tip: it’s obvious that relieving discomfort and relieving muscle pain depends on the skill of a massage therapist, so you should take a responsible approach to the issue of choosing a specialist in order not to damage the affected muscles.

Stretching

After a hard cardio and strength training, muscle pain also appears in an experienced athlete who is even familiar with some nuances of the technique of performing all exercises and conducting a high-quality workout. A universal way to get rid of muscle clogging and fatigue is to independently conduct a stretching session.

After loads on the muscles of the chest, back, legs and arms, many tensile and pulling movements will be difficult, and this is quite natural, because after a load of stress they expect only one thing: rest.

Tip: it is important to choose the right “post-workout” program; it should not, in principle, strain muscles, its only goal is to give much-needed relaxation, therefore, after it a contrast shower should be taken immediately.

After 10-15 minutes of smooth execution of stretching exercises, the pain will begin to recede little by little.

The use of ointments, creams and other similar means

This option is also universal, however, it may require spending a certain amount of money: all therapeutic ointments sold in pharmacies and hardware stores are not universal due to certain features of their composition. That is why it is important to ensure that the composition contains such substances as:

• Lavender juice;
• Particles of citrus;
• Herbs (mint, currants, bergamot leaves).

The listed elements, in principle, are the strongest antioxidants, therefore the presence of at least one of them in the composition of ointments or creams is mandatory.

Preventative measures

To prevent muscle pain in the future to a lesser extent, certain preventive measures must be followed. They are able, if not completely to prevent the appearance of muscle pains, but certainly protect against serious sprains and tears.

Proper nutrition is the basis for the development of muscles and increase their total volume. The opinions of nutritionists regarding the amount of protein taken per day vary, but the optimal intake for recovery is considered to be 2.5-3 grams of protein (if muscle mass gain is 4.5) per 1 kg of body weight. Moreover, what is important, the amount of protein should be constant (that is, match both in the morning and in the evening). Without energy, the body will also not be able to restore muscle tone in time, therefore it is necessary to monitor the intake of carbohydrates (4-7 g / kg per day, the exact number depends on the goal of classes - weight loss or weight gain).

Of great importance for the removal of toxins, harmful substances and lactic acid from the body is the amount of water taken per day. It is easy to calculate by the formula:

• Body weight in kilograms * 0.04 = The amount of water in liters that you need to drink per day.

The overall movement positively affects muscle recovery: if after a hard workout the next 24 hours a person is inactive and practically does not move (riding in a personal car, work where you need to spend a lot of time in a sitting position), then he will feel worse than that that he walked around the city and at least kneaded a little, so his muscles.

Rest from training is necessary - this is the basis for building muscles, giving them shape, so you should sleep at least 7.5 hours a day. There are quite a lot of cases when young people who decided to "pump up" as quickly as possible at any cost overloaded their body with workouts, which ultimately resulted in poor health, constant drowsiness and general malaise. It is recommended that after every 3 months of training in the gym or pool take a week break:

1. This will also have a beneficial effect on the muscles in terms of their growth: they will be unaccustomed to a constant load for a week, and a new cycle of classes will give them a big impetus for development.
2. All lactic acid accumulated in the body will be excreted in a fairly short time due to the lack of a regular load.

It is important to distinguish between articular and muscle pain: if the above methods of removing unpleasant sensations did not have an effect in a week, then you should definitely contact a specialist who will determine the nature of their manifestation. If the development of joint injuries is not prevented in time, this can result in improper muscle growth and the appearance of chronic overstrain.

It is recommended to recover after training and relieve muscle pain with an integrated approach, using alternately methods. So, in one day you can take a contrast shower, in another - visit a massage parlor, and in the third use essential oils or a variety of ointments. An integrated approach is good because all methods in their own way affect the body, positively affecting the course of various processes.

Video: how to get rid of muscle pain after training