Should you rest or should you train when you have sore leg muscles?
Keep up the training if the soreness is minor, but if the symptoms are worse do not train until the pain is gone.
Always give yourself 24 to 48 hours of rest after an activity that has caused some muscle soreness. Your muscles will thank you and you will build muscle more effectively.
Sore leg muscles in the beginning of an exercise program are a natural change. Usually the pain starts about 24 to 48 hours after you've exercised. This is called delayed onset muscle soreness. My legs will feel sore and tight in the calves or thighs and it is difficult sometimes to get around.
If you are an active person before you started a running program, you may not feel as stiff and sore the next day. If you are a beginner to a new sport and you use new muscles, you could feel mild to extreme muscle soreness. When you haven't used those muscles actively before, afterward you will feel the pain involving aches, stiffness and tenderness when you touch or move muscle. Walking around or getting up from a sitting position can be VERY painful!
Why?
As your muscles lengthen little tiny tears develop in the muscle fiber while you are strengthening. These tears can produce sore leg muscles that can last up to a week or more! Your muscles are going through a healing process; you treat your pain and healing just like any other healing. As your muscle go through this process they first break down and then build up again. After doing your workout sessions for a couple weeks or more your muscles will adapt to the change.
A Good Preventative
Start an exercise program gradually, in the smallest of increments so that your muscles can adapt better.
Do a walking warm up, gentle running on the spot or gentle jumping jacks for 5 minutes to introduce your muscles to exercise.
Stretch gently in the middle of your exercise program.
Follow a program introduced by a professional and stay with it.
Here is how to heal:
Rest... but also do an activity like a consistent like slow walk. Something like tennis would be very jarring on already sore muscles. It is also good to try to do the same exercise gently (run/walk or running) after a 3 day rest. If you spread your days too far apart you run into the same muscle soreness again.
Try not to sit for too long...and if it hurts to get up off a chair - do some gentle stretches! This is good to get the blood moving in the area. If you have to sit for a long time stretch your legs every half-hour and get up and move around.
Do a gentle message on the area with some deep rub sports cream. This also gets the blood moving in the area, make sure that it is gentle message.
Ice or take a cool bath this helps stop the build up of lactic acid that is causing some of the pain. Doing this also prevents swelling.
Some people say do the same activity a couple days later. Sure if you are not feeling too sore and you feel as though your legs are healing. If you are feeling any sign of excruciating pain, you should take more days off.
Over the counter painkiller like Ibuprofen.
Lastly, if the pain is really bad and you think you may have injured yourself, visit your doctor.
Conclusion: As soon as your body becomes accustom to the activity the pain will fade away. This is a good sign that you are building muscle. Building muscle is what you want, so that you become a more efficient in your exercise program!
I am a runner and train Newbie Runners. I research natural medicine and natural healing. I'm really interested in keeping with a whole food diet. I think it is important to make every day an happy day. Take care of your "LIFE" and your "SELF". These 'words' are truly valuable to your well-being. Running in the bush is my passion, please visit http://www.runningmy.com. For more information on learning how to run responsibly. [http://www.beginnertraining.net]
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