That's Fit

Even if you truly love working out, I'm going to bet that you don't love the muscle soreness that comes afterward. I mean, there's something kind of rewarding about a little soreness the next day, but the kind of pain that makes it hard to walk like a normal person? I'll pass on that, thanks.

I recently read about a product called The Stick on one of the running blogs I follow. It promises to "prevent and predict muscle injuries, dramatically improve strength, flexibility and endurance, rapidly prepare muscles for physical activity, disperse the effects of lactic acid following activity, and accelerate muscle recovery." I don't know about you, but those are all things I could use some help with.

Lots of professional sports teams use it, including the New York Knicks, Miami Dolphins, and Baltimore Orioles, but it can also be used by non-athletes who are just looking for the best way to massage and warm up muscles.

Having just written about muscle soreness, I felt is was necessary to offer up a tip on how to go about reducing it. Allowing yourself enough rest in between workouts is always a smart move, but there are ways that your diet can help speed up your recovery, too.

In addition to the purported pain-reducing benefits of caffeine, other research has shown that vitamin C may also help your muscles bounce back quicker. Scientists at the University of Birmingham divided a group of volunteers into three groups. Group 1 took 400mg of vitamin C daily, group 2 took 400mg of vitamin E, and group 3 took a placebo.

After three weeks, each group was asked to perform a stepping exercise for 60 minutes, after which time the researchers measured their muscle strength and degree of fatigue. They found that the group who had been taking vitamin C exhibited 85 percent greater post-exercise recovery than the other two groups.

So, if you're thinking about working out, but aren't really thrilled with the idea of feeling sore for days on end, start eating those citrus fruits!!

If you're feeling sore from yesterday's heavy workout, conventional wisdom dictates that you should take the day off. Not necessarily, says a recent report in the European Journal of Applied Physiology.

In a study of 18 volunteers who performed intense workouts over a fourteen day span, 9 of them also performed lighter sessions the next day. Researchers found that both groups reported equal amounts of muscle soreness, indicating that performing the light workout did not cause any additional pain or damage to the body during its recovery from the heavy workout the day prior.

Some doctors actually suggest doing a light workout to help alleviate muscle soreness, as keeping your muscles in motion may provide some relief.

Whether you choose to take the day off, or ease the soreness through light exercise, just make sure that you don't perform a heavy workout on consecutive days (unless you are working completely different body parts on each day).