Five tips for relieving sore muscles

Whether you are a beginning exerciser or an advanced athlete, you will occasionally experience some muscle soreness when you try a new movement. As your body becomes more accustomed to exercise, it becomes much more efficient at repairing itself, and soreness will go away much faster—but as long as you continue to challenge your body in new ways, you will get sore from time to time.

Why are you sore?

Strenuous exercise causes microscopic damage to your muscles. This damage prompts your body to strengthen your muscle tissue so that you will be better able to handle the same activity the next time. As the repairs and improvements begin, waste products build up in the muscle tissue, causing some discomfort. In order to remove the waste products, your muscles bring in extra water to dissolve the substances, creating swelling.

What can you do?

Time is the best healer for sore muscles. The soreness should peak at 48 hours after your activity and then start improving. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to alleviate the stiffness and discomfort.

1. Drink lots of water. Water helps increase your blood volume to make it easier to move harmful substances and waste products out of your muscle tissue. The exact quantity you need depends on your weight, gender, activity level and the weather outside. As a general guideline, take a look at your pee when you go to the bathroom. It should always be a pale yellow color. If it becomes a more concentrated yellow, drink more.
2. Keep moving. The more you move, the better your circulatory system works. This means that blood can move more freely through your muscles, removing waste products and excess water, and delivering nutrients to your muscles. Gentle exercises, like walking or low-intensity swimming, are good choices.
3. Get wet. Whether pool or hot tub, pressure from water can help your circulatory system function more effectively. You don’t have to swim to get this benefit: you can walk or play in the pool. The best water of all is a hot tub—whether a hot bath or a Jacuzzi with bubbles. The Jacuzzi adds the extra benefit of massaging action from water jets, which will further improve your circulation. In my own experience, the Jacuzzi is the number-one muscle soreness reducer.
4. Eat well. If you are serious about health and fitness, you should always focus on eating quality foods, but it’s especially important when you are recovering from a bout of strenuous exercise that produced muscle soreness. A nutrient-rich diet packed with vitamins and minerals from vegetables and high-quality proteins will give your body the supplies it needs to repair muscle damage and prepare you for the next bout of exercise. Focus on foods as close to their natural form as possible: like grilled fish and fresh grilled, steamed, or raw vegetables.
5. Sleep strong. Your body does its major repair work when you sleep. Make sure that you give yourself plenty of time for rest each night. To facilitate good sleep, take a hot bath before bed. Spend a half-hour relaxing  (reading, meditating, praying) before you turn out the lights. Use white noise (like a fan on low) to drown out distractions, and reserve your bedroom for sleep only—in other words, condition your brain to understand that bed is for sleeping, not watching TV or eating.