1. Soak It Up with Epsom Salts – (aka Magnesium Sulfate). Most people are deficient in magnesium and sulfate. After a hard workout, sitting in a tub of Epsom Salts for 12-15 minutes helps to restore these depleted minerals. The salts can be absorbed in the skin and have been known for centuries to help ease soreness, loosen tightness, soften skin, prevent wrinkles, and detoxify your body.
2. Ice, Ice, Baby – Icing (applying an ice compress to a sore area) reduces swelling and inflammation tremendously by reducing the blood flow to the area and slows the nerve firing which, in turn, reduces the pain you’re feeling. Icing isn’t always the best choice for injuries, but most often, it is effective and helpful.
3. Don’t Forget Protein – Muscles like protein. After a good workout, there is likely muscle damage (which causes soreness and inflammation), and the body spends a lot of time, energy, and amino acids to try to repair the damage that has been done through protein synthesis. The body needs proper nutrition to maintain health and balance, so feed it properly!
4. Hydrate with Water – There is much research indicating that water is good for your body. It detoxifies, hydrates, oxygenates, and boosts your immune system. A dehydrated body usually takes water from the muscles first before other places which makes the lactic acid (the stuff that makes you feel sore) move slower and stay in your sore places longer. The more you hydrate, the more your body can move fluids of all kinds through its system, reducing soreness and inflammation.
5. Stretch It Out – Stretching after a workout can reduce, if not eliminate stiff and sore muscles. Though stretching before and after workouts help with those soreness pains, research actually suggests that regular, daily stretching provides the most benefits to reducing muscle soreness. When muscles are flexible, they have better circulation, range of motion, and a greater resilience to strain due to being worked.
