Managing Muscle Soreness Without Compromising Performance
Thinking back to your first days in the gym, you might recall some major muscle soreness. And even after many years of training, you likely run into the occasional training session that makes using the toilet a feat.
Back in the day, a couple of ibuprofen would have been my quick fix. But as a grownup, I now steer clear of this option, especially when paired with heavy training. Initially, it was out of fear that the drug could potentially block my muscle gains, but nowadays, I'm more aware that my body is not invincible.
Specifically, the kidneys already bear the brunt of extreme exercise due to restricted blood flow and the added stress of dealing with the byproducts of muscle breakdown. For example, kidney injury has been recorded in 34 to 85 percent of all ultramarathoners, and adding ibuprofen to the mix further stresses the already strained kidneys.
So, what's a person to do? Here are some research-backed options...
- This study showed that 350 mg of magnesium for ten days reduced muscle soreness by 1–2 units on a 6-point scale.
- Tart cherry juice appears to be quite effective at lessening muscle soreness and attenuating strength loss following heavy eccentric training or intense running. Start with a dose of 8–12 oz tart cherry concentrate, but be aware that it comes at a cost of about 200 calories, which adds up if it's on your regular maintenance schedule.
- Supplementing with creatine also reduces muscle soreness following heavy training and reduces blood markers that indicate muscle damage. The standard does is 3-5g of creatine per day.
Although all these studies were on several days of supplementation and not an “Oh, crap. Leg day snuck up on me,” kind of treatment.
You must also consider the effect of intercepting the body's physiological processes. For example, Vitamin C is a potential supplement for helping the body recover but has also been shown to block adaptations to endurance performance.
So, the only real answer is to suck it up.
There's no magic cure for muscle disruption from a super hard effort that includes a considerable amount of eccentric contraction or an exercise that's new to you.
It will take some downtime to get it back to full capacity.
Light movement, stretching, and hot and cold baths can all lessen the symptoms, but they won't make your muscles work like new again.
Train Smart So You Don’t Pay Later
That’s why calculated training is important. The bane of many new training programs is getting inspired, only to lose all motivation after a week of intense muscle pain from jumping into things too fast.
For more experienced athletes, embrace those hard training days—but calculate the cost of disrupting your training plan if this superhero effort will make you sore for many days to follow.
No pain doesn’t mean no gains. But sometimes, it just works its way into the plan.
