If you have recently decided to start on a fitness program for the first time, there is no doubt at some point very soon; you are going to experience some muscle soreness. This is very normal and natural for a beginner to experience as your body is adapting to the different exercises being performed. However, this does not mean you have to deal with muscle soreness on an ongoing basis. By making a few adjustments to your plan, you can avoid so much pain and get back to the gym sooner. Here is how…
1. Exercise Often. One of the most important ways to help combat muscle soreness is to increase your workout frequency. You might think the opposite is the case, but the more frequent you are exercising, the better your body can adapt and adjust to the demands of exercise.
Obviously, you need to do this in reason as too much exercise for anyone will lead to soreness or worse, injury, but moving from hitting a muscle group once a week to two times a week, for example, can be highly beneficial.
2. Stretch Post-Exercise. The next step to take to help avoid soreness is to stretch after your workout session is over. This will help to reduce any lingering tightness or tension in your muscles that may, later on, translate to muscle soreness.
You usually will only need to stretch for 5 to 10 minutes post-session so stretching at the end of your workout session would not add a ton of extra time to your workout plan. Commit to getting into the habit of doing this now, so it becomes automatic as you advance.
3. Only Add One Or Two New Exercises At A Time. Finally, make sure you are doing one or two new exercises at a time. Naturally when you first start working out everything will be new, but as you progress, look to limit how many new routines you add to your schedule each week.
Often it is new exercises that tend to create the most soreness, so by only adding in one or two new movements each workout, you will reduce how much soreness potential you have.
If you keep these three points in mind while also making sure to follow a healthy eating plan and sleep seven or eight hours each night, you should help to minimize the amount of soreness you get to deal with.
Related Article: Tips on Proper Stretching Methods From a Physical Therapist
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Source by Beverleigh H Piepers