Exercise and muscle soreness – What you need to know

1. Why do your muscles feel sore from exercising?

During the training the muscle is put under strain from trying to lift more weight or perform a new movement. This stress can cause very small tears in the muscle; also known as micro trauma; which causes damage to the muscle. With this damage comes mild inflammation and soreness, just the same as if you cut your finger with a knife. Causing micro trauma to the muscle is a trigger for the body to adapt to the training and by repairing itself the body can modify itself either by grow stronger, growing bigger or getting fitter. Starting exercise after a break or starting a new program will normally produce some amount of soreness. This generally decreases after the first few training sessions and the following sessions are generally not as bad.

2. Why is it that you don't feel AS sore after some exercises - like running?

When you first start running you may feel a little sore, but most likely not as much as your first intense weight session. Why is this? When you are doing exercises such as a moderate to low intensity run the muscles are not put under the same loading or stress. Each stride of a 10km run will not require the same amount of strength from the muscle as that required for a 100 kg leg press. Therefore the amount of micro trauma in the muscle is less and it will recover faster.

3. What should you do to stop/prevent the soreness?

You won’t always stop the soreness from new forms of training but there are things that will speed up the recovery and reduce the amount of soreness you experience. After training the body goes into recovery/ repair mode. In this period of time the body’s demand for amino acids which come from proteins is at its highest where it is used to build and repair muscles. Eating a snack that contains protein after training will provide the body with the amino acids needed to assist in repair. There is a time window of 20 minutes post training to make that most of this repair process and reduce soreness. Supplementation can be used such as protein shakes which are easy to prepare and readily absorbed by the body. On the following day doing some light aerobic activity will promote blood flow to the muscles improving recovery and the activity will help reduce the stiffness in the muscle making movement more free.

4. How long should you wait before exercising again? (Recovery time?)

Time for recovery depends on the type, volume and intensity of your training. In general, a good rule to go by is 48 hrs between strength training sessions if you are doing full body routines. This however can be broken up with cardio training by doing cardio on alternate 24 hrs between strength sessions. With your cardio training sessions you can normally allow 24hrs between sessions. If you are not getting the appropriate rest your body will let you know about it by remaining sore for longer and your training will not be as effective.

5. Is there any benefit to the body/fitness to continue to slog it out every day?

Yes you can exercise everyday but it does come down whether you’re training for the Olympic team or to make sure the top button doesn’t pop off your jeans. Again this relates to the type, volume and intensity of your training sessions. But there has to be time allowed for the body to recover. In a normal week, you should always allow a full day rest to allow the body to compensate for the training that you have been doing. A rest day does not mean that you bog yourself down in front of the TV for the whole day. It is a great idea to have some form of activity such as a leisurely walk, a swim at the beach, or kicking a ball in the park with friends. Maybe even a yoga class or even better, a day at the spa. This can’t be thought of as training or exercise but just as a fun relaxing activity. It has to be something you enjoy and but does not involve stress.

6. Is it true that the fitter you get - the less sore you feel in the long term?

Yes it is true. With the increase in your training experience your body will be able to adapt to training stimulus a lot quicker. Therefore there will be less soreness.


7. If you don't feel sore the next day, does that mean you've been a total lame during the workout?

No, it does not mean that you have not worked hard enough. If you have training experience and had the right post nutrition you may not get sore after training and other people are genetically blessed. If you have been following the same routine for a long period of time there is a strong chance that when you first change you will experience soreness again.

If you are not sure about your recovery speak to a qualified Trainer to make sure that you are making the best of your training.