How To Handle Post Work Out Aches & Pains

Whether your workout routine focuses on muscle confusion, progressive overload, or a combination of both, you’ll come out the other end with the good kind of muscle ache.

Managing the discomfort we feel in the aftermath of workouts isn’t just about staying comfortable. Pain can sap motivation and sometimes lead to injuries when we can’t tell the difference between simple soreness and something more serious. Luckily, there are lots of natural ways we can keep down the post-workout hurt.

Nutrition

Nutrition is the first step towards keeping your aches and pains in check. In order for your muscles to repair themselves properly during recovery they need fuel. Make sure you’re eating enough carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats to provide your muscles and joints with the calories they need after you exercise.

Hydration

Hydration is equally important because even slight dehydration will slow down recovery.

Stretching

You might think less of a focus on stretching isn’t hurting you, but it literally is. Not only can stretching before workouts help avoid injury, doing so after your workouts can help alleviate soreness and promote recovery. 

Compression and Icing

For especially sore muscles, compression and icing after workouts can reduce inflammation, which is one of the main sources of discomfort after strenuous exercise. A two-pronged approach to reducing inflammation can really benefit with recovery. 

Cannabidiol

Daily doses of CBD can complement icing and compression nicely. CBD has the potential to support our endocannabinoid system, which helps promote our body’s natural ability to reduce inflammation and maintain homeostasis. 

According to a 2018 review of 132 original studies published in Frontiers in Neurology, CBD can indeed reduce inflammation in the body and help improve pain and mobility in patients with multiple sclerosis.

“Broadly speaking, it does decrease inflammation when it's rubbed on muscles as an ointment or taken orally,” MensHealth.com.

Together, all of these approaches can keep soreness and aches from sapping our motivation to stay in the gym.