The Sore Muscles Blues

Every once in a while I have a day when I do a LOT of exercise, on those days I feel AMAZING. Until the next day. The day after the sore muscles set in, and boy do they make me want to do nothing but lay in bed all day. These are the days my motivation hides under the bed. It takes all my strength just to grab a shower and walk the dogs.

As I go through my weight loss journey I am learning how to deal with the sore muscles blues. Here are a few of my suggestions.

• Decide how sore you are. Rate your soreness on a 1-10 scale. Hopefully this will put your sore muscles into perspective. I am usually at a 3-4. If you are in the 7-10 range you may want to ice your muscles and take a rest. Tylenol can ease your pain if you are hurting, but see a doctor if you are in a lot of pain, or if your pain is interfering with daily activities. 
• Stretch! Prevent sore muscles next time with a nice long stretching session before and after your workout. Try and focus on muscles that you are going to use in your exercise. I like to do a nice yoga session after working out, but any stretch session around 10 minutes will lessen sore muscles from your workout. Experts now say that stretching afterward is the important part, so don't skip your post workout cool down.
• Pick a workout to target the muscles that aren't sore. For example, My upper body is killing me today... okay, if I rated it I would say it was a 4, but my legs are fine. So today I am going to get on my stationary bike and rock the heck out of an hour! Don't over do it though. The goal is to workout safely and effectively. 
• Slow down your workout. If you are finding yourself sore after each workout you may need to rethink the intensity of your exercise. Switch to an easier workout. You want to make sure that you are not in any pain during your workout and you should be able to hold a conversation throughout your exercise. Try starting with a slow warm up like walking for at least 5 minutes before jumping into your normal workout.

More Information at http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/art-sore-muscles-joint-pain?page=2