Don't Let Muscle Soreness Stop You Training
A very common thing we hear is "I’m too sore to train”.
Yes, we have all been through the days where you go to sit on the toilet after leg day and can’t get back up. Now it's important to know that If your body is sore then you need to back off and let it recover. But in general, rather than having complete rest, we want to keep the muscles moving. Blood-flow is the key to recovery so movement is your friend.
On the other hand, it’s important to learn the difference between muscle soreness and injury. No exercise is worth doing if it is consistently causing you pain or creating an injury. If you have an injury I would recommend seeing a Physio or other health care professional that can help to give you advice and specific corrective exercises.
However, if you are just really sore or experiencing discomfort from muscles that may be tight, we recommend to continue training or moving but to include recovery strategies like foam rolling, mobility and a gentle stretching to help relieve any tightness.
Depending on the sore muscle group, you should adjust your training program to let your body recover. This gives the muscle group at least the 24-48 hours to fully recover. Usually, you feel the soreness around the start of day 2 after you work that muscle.
Let's say you do Upper body pulling on Monday. Your Lats and biceps are sore from all those chin-ups you did, but by Wednesday its upper body again. You may still be sore from Monday, but you may be training chest and triceps. Yes, it’s still upper body but you are working different muscles, so in general, the movement will aid in your recovery.
At Fitness Boxx we structure the training sessions so that you can train each day and work different muscle groups have time to recover too!
A typical week of strength training may look like the following:
Monday - Upper body pulling (Back, Lats, Biceps)
Tuesday - Lower body (Quads, Glutes, Core)
Wednesday - Upper body pushing (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)
Thursday - Conditioning and 30min stretch/mobility
Friday Lower Body - (Glutes, Hamstrings, Core)
Saturday - Conditioning
To assist in maintaining your body’s ability to train, it’s important to factor in extra recovery work prior to or after your sessions, so I have included some ideas for different areas of your body below.
Tight or Sore Quads?
Now the first thing I do when I have sore quads is foam roll.
Yes it is going to be painful and there might a few tears but we want to get the blood flow to the muscles to help them recover. 10-20 rolls on each side is usually enough.
Next I would go into some stretches, being careful not to over-stretch as it can create more damage to the already-sore muscles. The Couch Stretch will help open up your hip flexors- focus on tucking your pelvis under and hold for 1-2 mins on each side.
Tight or Sore Hamstrings and Glutes?
Foam rolling again can help relieve the pain. Spend a couple of minutes on each side rolling out your hamstrings and glutes. As fun as it sounds, you can also get a massage/ tennis or golf ball in the glutes by sitting on the ball and either rolling on one side or just holding the pressure of the ball in any tight spots, supporting yourself with your arms.
Follow this with a gentle hamstring stretch. You can use a band or a towel for this and you're going to lay down on your back with one leg straight on the floor and one leg straight in the air,. Use the band to hold the leg in the air up and support your head of the floor keeping your arms straight as well. For the glutes, you can go into a pigeon stretch either on the floor or supported on a box. Hold both stretches for 1-2mins on each side.
Tight or Sore Back?
Thoracic mobilisation on the Foam roller can help with this. Start at the bottom 1/3 of your ribcage, with the foam roller horizontal across your back. Keeping the hips off the floor, hands behind your head for support arch your upper back and hold for 10-15secs and then work your way up the spine.
Sore Lats and Upper Traps
To foam roll the lats, lie down on your side with the foam roller horizontal underneath your armpit. Your arm is going to be extended straight overhead then start to roll your body up and down the foam roller. You can also rock side to side.
Next, we’ll get a Massage ball into your upper traps. Lie down on your back and place the massage ball underneath one side of your traps. From there you will take the same side arm up and down your body to release the muscle. If you want to increase the intensity, lift your hips into a glute bridge and push with your feet. Spend 45-60 seconds on each side.
Sore Chest and Forearms
You will need a Massage ball for these 2. The first one you will position the massage ball on your chest and lean into it against a door frame or post. You want to be able to move the arm up and down in front of you, using your bodyweight to apply the pressure. Next to release your forearms you can massage the ball into the arms yourself or against the wall into the forearm and apply your body weight.
You should see or feel improvements within 2-6 weeks if you are doing daily recovery work. If symptoms persist and you think an injury may be involved, always see a health care professional.
As always, if you need help, we are always here to provide further advice. Please reach out for a Free 30 Minute Online Strategy Session to help you get the most from your training. Just click the button below to get started.