You’re out there pounding the pavement or hitting your reps at the gym. You feel great during your workout! But then the next day hits and you feel like your body is betraying you – you find yourself wondering “why am I so sore?!”. Sound familiar?
Delayed onset muscle soreness is very common, especially if you’re new to exercise, you increase the intensity or duration (like heavier weights or longer miles), or are just starting back up again after taking a break from your routine.
While soreness is frustrating, it can also be a normal response to training. Luckily, there are some steps you can take to minimize the risk of soreness and some strategies that may help in the moment. For example, proper training strategies, eating right, sleep, massage, and supplements may help. Let’s break it all down.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by NOW®. As always, all opinions are my own.
Disclaimer: This post has been written and reviewed by Chrissy Carroll, MPH, RD, RRCA Running Coach. It is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as individual training or nutrition advice. Consult an MD or RD prior to starting a new supplement regimen.
Why Soreness Occurs After Exercise
Delayed onset muscle soreness – also known as DOMS – is a common but annoying phenomenon that can start a day or so after training and may last for a couple days.
There are several theories on why this soreness occurs. A common explanation is that exercise causes microscopic tears in muscle fibers that then stimulate pain receptors. However, research suggests that DOMS is likely not due to just one factor, but probably better explained by several factors. These factors may include those muscle tears as well as connective tissue damage, inflammation, or exposure to certain chemical compounds in the muscle.
There are a few situations where soreness is more likely:
- New types of exercise (including new types of strength exercises even if you’re already strength training)
- Returning to exercise after a period of inactivity
- Eccentric muscle contractions (these are where the muscle is lengthening under tension, like during the lowering phase of strength exercises or while running downhill)
- Increasing the weight you’re lifting or the number of sets you’re doing
- Increasing cardiovascular training intensity or volume (like jumping from a 2-mile run to a 5-mile run without adequate time to build to that distance)
While soreness can be a normal consequence of exercise, you should also know that a lack of soreness doesn’t mean you had a bad workout. As your body adapts to training demands, you may find yourself not experiencing soreness. The old saying “no pain, no gain” doesn’t always apply!
In addition, keep in mind that DOMS should be relatively mild and manageable. If you are struggling with soreness that never seems to go away, or significant pain, that’s an indicator you should see a doctor to rule out other conditions.
Strategies to Prevent or Reduce Muscle Soreness
There’s no magic fix for soreness – sometimes, you’ve just got to wait it out. But there are a few strategies that may help prevent significant soreness, as well as some ideas that might help reduce the severity of soreness.
1. Gradually increase training
It’s important to follow exercise programs that use a gradual progression principle. This means that you slowly increase the intensity, duration, and frequency of your training program without any sharp jumps in any of these three variables.
For example, if you’re brand new to strength training, you might start with two full-body workouts per week using lighter loads.
Or if you want to train for your first 5K, you might start with a run-walk program that gradually increases running time and decreases walking time over several weeks.
These gradual progressions ensure that you give your body time to adapt to the increasing workload and reduce the risk of significant soreness.
2. Try massage after strenuous exercise
Massage appears to have some of the strongest evidence base for reducing DOMS. For example, both 2020 and 2017 systematic reviews found that massage significantly reduced muscle soreness, and a 2018 review noted that it was the most powerful for reducing DOMS of any of the recovery modalities examined.
Of course, many recreational exercisers may not be able to invest in regular massages. However, you could consider investing in a massage after your most intense workouts during a training season or after a major race/competition if it was financially feasible.
3. Try a supplement that may help with exercise-related soreness
A few supplements may be beneficial for reducing soreness after workouts. These include:
NOW® Sports R&R Rest and Repair: This product features several ingredients that may help enhance recovery.* It includes melatonin, which promotes restful sleep (and as I’ll note more below, sleep is key for recovery).* It also includes tart cherry powder, which may reduce muscle soreness from intense exercise.* For example, a 2022 study on runners and triathletes found that tart cherry powder was linked to lower perceived pre-run soreness compared to a placebo group.* Similarly, another study on resistance trained men found tart cherry supplementation was linked to less muscle soreness in certain thigh muscles after a squat workout, compared to the placebo group.*
Curcumin: This is a compound in the turmeric plant. A recent systematic review concluded that curcumin may reduce delayed onset muscle soreness linked to eccentric exercises.* However, it is important to note that there is limited research and results may vary based on dosage and training experience.* If you want to try curcumin, I like the NOW® Turmeric Curcumin Phytosome Veg Capsules, which has a special delivery system for enhanced absorption and bioavailability (meaning it’s easier for your body to use it).*
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: A systematic review found that omega-3 supplementation decreased DOMS, however, the authors noted that the degree of decrease was below the level of clinical significance.* It may be helpful for some people, though, depending on the individual, type of exercise, dosage, and length of supplementation (more research is needed!).* Nevertheless, omega-3 supplements also offer other health-promoting effects, so they’re one I find worthwhile to try.* These omega-3 gummy chews have 300 mg EPA and 225 mg DHA each, and I love the flavor.
Side note: You can try any of these (or any NOW product!) for 20% off using code CHRISSY.
4. Get enough sleep
Sleep is one of the most underrated recovery hacks. During sleep, the body goes through many processes that support muscle repair, tissue recovery, and training adaptations. Most adults need at least 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Yet research suggests athletes are falling short, clocking in just 6.5 hours on average.
Sleep deprivation may impact a person’s perception of soreness and pain. For example, one study led participants through exercise that would cause DOMS. One group got their normal amount of sleep, and another group was not allowed to sleep for one night. The sleep deprived group experienced a higher pain sensitivity as measured with a pressure test compared to the normal sleep group (though the subjective DOMS ratings themselves didn’t differ between groups). Other research shows sleep deprivation may affect hormones and inflammation after exercise, which could (but is not yet proven to) affect DOMS as well.
If you’re not getting enough sleep, try these tips:
- Go to bed around the same time each night and wake up around the same time each morning
- Reduce screen time at night
- Create an optimal environment with the right temperature, sheets, and pillows that you enjoy
- Try aromatherapy – for example, using an essential oil diffuser with a peaceful oil sleep blend or using a few spritzes of Take a Zen Ten™ Aroma Mist could help to create a calm environment before bed
- Minimize alcohol and caffeine, especially leading up to bedtime
5. Eat polyphenol-rich foods
Research suggests incorporating foods with polyphenols may help reduce delayed onset muscle soreness. Some of my favorite options are:
- Tart cherries and tart cherry juice
- Blueberries
- Pomegranate and pomegranate juice
- Cocoa
- Beets and beet juice
An easy way to utilize any of these is in a post-workout smoothie! I’ll often make a smoothie that packs in carbs, protein, and polyphenols after a tough workout. For example, sometimes I’ll make a peanut butter banana option (milk, frozen banana, cocoa powder, chocolate protein powder, and peanut butter) and other times I’ll do a cherry-berry option (frozen blueberries, frozen cherry blend, tart cherry juice, and vanilla Greek yogurt).
6. Engage in active recovery
Research on active recovery suggests that it can slightly decrease the severity of delayed onset muscle soreness. This applies when the active recovery methods – like light aerobic exercise or light concentric muscle contractions – are applied in the window between intense exercise and the DOMS onset.
In addition, when muscles feel stiff and sore, gentle movement can sometimes help you feel better in the moment, even with DOMS. The key is keeping the effort comfortable and not stressing the body more in the moment. I personally find walking and stretching to be quite beneficial when I’m struggling with soreness.
7. Stay hydrated in the heat
Hydration supports overall health, exercise performance, and exercise recovery. Dehydration in the heat may lead to increased perceived pain from DOMS in the days following exercise. For example, one study found that runners who were restricted from consuming fluids in the heat had a 44 percent higher pain perception in their lower body after exercise compared to those who could stay hydrated.
Based on this, it’s smart to place extra attention on your hydration status during exercise in the heat.
For exercise lasting over an hour, or for shorter workouts in extreme temps, be sure to consume electrolytes as part of your hydration strategy. I’m a fan of Effer-Hydrate Effervescent Lemon Lime Tablets which provide key electrolytes lost in sweat like sodium and potassium. Plus, it tastes great which can help you stick to your hydration strategy!
8. Eat enough calories, carbohydrates, and protein.
There is little direct evidence that low energy availability or skipping post-workout meals will independently increase the risk or severity of DOMS. That said, it is plausible that exercising under situations of chronic underfueling could increase muscle stress and protein breakdown, which could affect the risk of soreness.
Daily overall calorie intake is important to ensure you’re eating enough to support both your overall health and physical activity routine. Try to eat balanced meals regularly throughout the day that contain all three macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat).
In addition, after certain workouts, your body can reap benefits from a post-workout snack or meal. Carbohydrates replenish energy stores and protein helps repair and rebuild the muscle.
If you’re working out twice a day, or you just finished a very intense or long workout, prioritize getting carbohydrates and protein within 30-60 minutes of that session. Examples might include:
- Smoothie with fruit and protein powder (I’m personally a fan of NOW® Sports Creamy Vanilla Whey Protein)
- Greek yogurt with fruit, peanut butter, and granola
- Eggs, potatoes, and fruit
- Tall glass of chocolate milk (in fact, one study showed a reduction in DOMS in female badminton players when they drank chocolate milk after training compared to a control group that drank water)
- Sweet potato loaded with ground turkey and veggies
Again, even if there is not direct evidence that this impacts the risk or severity of DOMS, common sense says it’s a good strategy to put into place for health and performance.
The Bottom Line
Muscle soreness after exercise is frustrating but is often a normal response to training. While there is no way to completely eliminate DOMS, strategies like proper training progression, adequate nutrition, strategic supplementation, sleep, and massage may be useful to temper the severity. Don’t let a little soreness slow you down this season – you’ve got this!
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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