Easing Muscle Soreness

We’ve all experienced it, that dreaded post-workout soreness. Maybe you’ve recently started out in my Challenge, or you might have started a whole new style of training and you’re using muscles that you’d forgotten about!

While being sore can give us that proud ‘I worked hard today’ feeling, I’m sure we can all agree getting on and off the toilet seat after leg day can be plain old frustrating, not to mention a bit painful! That’s when you might find yourself frantically searching the internet at all hours, asking ‘how to get rid of sore legs’ after a tough workout.

These are some of the best ways I’ve found to get rid of muscle soreness:

Take an epsom salt bath

Taking a warm bath filled with epsom salts can help to ease muscle pain. The warm water can help to loosen up tight muscles and improve circulation, while the epsom salts (which contain magnesium) can help your muscles relax and kickstart your recovery. You can buy epsom salts from most supermarkets. If you’re experiencing muscle soreness, try adding two cups to your bath for some relief.

Foam roll

I’m sure it’s no surprise to everyone that this is one of my favourite tips for helping sore muscles! I couldn’t live without my foam roller! Foam rolling helps to increase blood flow to your muscles, which can help alleviate muscle tightness and soreness. I recommend foam rolling straight after your workout and focusing on the areas that you worked on.

Take it slow

If you feel SUPER sore and are planning a workout in the next few days, take it slow. I’ve had lots of clients ask me if it's it safe to train with DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), and my advice is to take some time to rest if you need to or at least take a lot of the load off and just your body weight is more than enough. You can also try doing something like going for a walk to relieve muscle soreness. It helps get your muscles moving and encourages blood flow, which can help your body repair itself. Make sure you give your muscles enough time to recover so that you’re able to put in 100% for your next workout. One important note: if you feel like you’re so sore you can’t move properly, have a solid a good day off that muscle group (however don't just sit and do nothing), drink plenty of water and try some of the suggestions above to help your muscles relax and recover.

Kirst xx