health and wellness

Working Through Muscle Soreness 

Let’s talk about what’s going to happen once you are well on your way to starting a new fitness program. To begin with, there will be a certain amount of “normal” soreness in your muscles once you begin to work out. The reason is, when you use muscles you have not used for a while or even certain muscles you have never used before, you are going to have a normal amount of muscular soreness. I know the feeling quite well, and to be honest with you, I love it and I live for it! Muscle soreness is caused by damage to the muscle fibers which is important for growth. Many women ask whether or not they should stop working out until the soreness subsides. The answer to this questions is emphatically no. You need to continue to work through the slight discomfort, and in about a week you will notice it to be gone. I once heard a gal talking about her muscle soreness after her second day being new to the gym, saying, ‘I could hardly walk down the stairs or sit down on the toilet seat.’ I laughed to myself knowing the feeling only too well. But she proceeded, ‘My legs felt like rubber, but the strangest part was that it really felt great and it gave me a sense of accomplishment. The ache let me know that I was getting stronger, that my workout program was working, and that my body was responding with positive change. I loved it!’ 

But the gal’s delight with her soreness is typical. There is a natural “high” that comes with the awakening of muscles that have been lying dormant for years. The feeling is that of rebirth, a renewed charge of energy, inner strength and a natural glow encompassing a fresh vibration. Often the feeling gives you an euphoric high and a sense that you could carry all the world’s problems on your shoulders, but you wouldn’t feel its weight.

Muscle Soreness vs. Injuries

You will learn to love your muscle soreness more and more because it will usually never be as discomforting as the initial few workouts. You do, however, want to aim to having a little soreness with each workout just to let yourself know that your program is still effective and that your body is still responding to it. If you aren’t getting that “good kind” of soreness, you are either not working within your optimal fitness level or your body is trying to tell you that it needs a change in order to respond again. The kind of ache you don’t want, however, is the “bad kind” of soreness that resembles more to actual “pain.” You will know if you are injured because you will not be happy about it nor will you feel a natural “high.” The good news is that there is little chance of injury in working out since, if you are a women, you will never be lifting so heavy that you lose control of the weight to begin with.  Sports offer a much greater chance to injuries but if certain injuries do occur from working out they will be due to carelessness such as sudden jerks or pulls on the weight. Tendinitis, which is inflammation of the tendon, can be avoided by warming up before a workout program and by not forcing yourself to lift an extra rep or attempt to lift a weight even though it is physically not possible. Using your common sense and good judgement should always be your guide.

Ways To Relieve Soreness

A hot bubble bath will always do the trick. Be sure to soak with Epsom salt as it is a magnesium sulfate mined in Epsom, England, since the seventeenth century. The Epsom salt also helps the body detoxify, soothe, calm swollen feet, and relieves aching muscles and joints. An easy recipe to remember is a formula of 50% Epsom salts, 50% sea salts, and a few drops of essential scent oils of your choice. Other ways include a good massage or soaking in the jacuzzi allowing the jets of hot water to massage your sore muscles. A steam room with a little eucalyptus oil is also quite beneficial along with a good night’s sleep to allow for full muscle recovery as this is the time when your body begins to repair itself.