Some people like to measure the success of their workout by the degree or number of days thereafter that they continue to have muscle aches and pains. You might have heard them say “I know I worked hard, I was sore for 3 days afterwards!”

What’s actually happening is that DOMS is setting it.

Delayed.
Onset.
Muscle.
Soreness.

DOMS shouldn’t be a measure of workout intensity. In fact, it can actually reduce the effectiveness of your next workout, if you’re still sore from yesterday’s session!

Why is this?

Excellent question.  Keep reading…

Because DOMS is a symptom of lactic acid build up. Lactic acid build up occurs when you work your muscles a little harder for a little longer with ineffective warm up pre-workout or cooling down/ stretching post workout. Your body simply cannot cope.

Often we bound out of the gym or finish our sport without sufficient warm down. However, continuing with your warm down at home can help, and the good news is you don’t need to kit out a gym room or buy expensive equipment to do so.

I’d like to share with you 3 simple post workout accessory hacks to assist with your muscle recovery and reduce days of lingering muscle aches and soreness- and I don’t mean sweatbands!

1. Elastic band or theraband. Budget version: bike tube.

Extend your hamstring stretch with a stretchy band by lying on your back, extending one leg at right angles from your other, placing the band over your foot and pulling gently towards you. Holding the stretch for 20 seconds. Repeat on the other side. Three times each side.

2. Mini Foam roller. Budget version: foam pool noodle.

I can’t stress enough how effective foam rolling is to release lactic acid build up and muscle tension from your calves, legs, thighs, ilio-tibial band and hamstrings. Foam roll for at least 5 minutes after your session. Initially it may be painful, but this is just indicative of how tight your muscles are!

3. Foot roller. Budget version: tennis ball.

If you are a runner or just into a lot of weight bearing activity, releasing the tension from underneath your foot is an absolute must.

Place the roller or tennis ball underneath your foot, rotating in a circular motion on each side for about 2-3 minutes.

Following these simple strategies will help reduce DOMS after your workout.

There’s my tips for today.  Take them, apply them and love your work out 🙂

Need some extra help? Here’s what you need to do next:

If you have been ramping up your exercise over summer and have been experiencing muscle aches and pains, give us a call and we can get you back working out harder and more efficiently than before, pain free!

Call us at the clinic on 9557 8521 or flick us an email and we’ll hook you up.