Muscle pain is almost always considered a sign of a well-executed workout - both immediately during and the next day. No pain no gain is the motto of a real rocking chair. And there is some truth in this: to get what you don’t have, you need to leave your comfort zone, and leaving your comfort zone is always stressful and unpleasant.
But beginners don’t always understand what needs to be tolerated and what not. Pain comes in different forms, some are beneficial, others are harmful, so it is better to learn to distinguish one from the other.
Do some stretching
After a hard workout, stretching for all muscle groups is a must. Proper stretching allows the body and nervous system to relax. After intense exercise, the muscles remain in a warm state for about 40 minutes. This is the best time to work on flexibility. Half an hour of stretching is an excellent prevention of injuries, ruptures and sprains. But stretching exercises should not be too intense. When stretching, slight discomfort is acceptable, but there should be no pain.
Sauna
This method can be combined with massage. A Turkish or Finnish sauna is relaxingSauna Health Benefits: Are saunas healthy or harmful? muscles and increases blood circulation. In addition, according to research by Finnish doctors Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All‑Cause Mortality Events, visiting a steam room has a positive effect on heart health.
If you have any heart or lung disease, consult your doctor before using the sauna. And even if you are completely healthy, do not sit in it for more than 20 minutes. The temperature in the sauna should never exceed 100 °C.
Take a break from eating
Following a diet is an essential key to a successful workout. Without proper nutrition, you will not be able to achieve your goals. If your goal is to lose weight, then after exercising it is recommended not to eat for at least 30 minutes. During sports, the body switches on an enhanced calorie burning mode. If you eat immediately after training, this regime will be stopped.
The best option for losing weight is to pause for 2 hours before eating. After a couple of hours, you can eat eggs or a protein product, and if a strong feeling of hunger does not allow you to calmly do other things, then use a banana or a protein shake as an additional snack. But avoid fatty foods, especially fast food, otherwise all the efforts spent in the gym will be in vain.
How to avoid getting sick after training? 7 tips from a sports doctor
To avoid getting sick after training, you need to remember a few basic rules and understand how the body works. At the moment of intense load during the training process, the speed of all processes in the body increases, and we begin to sweat. Of course, if you go outside from the locker room in this state, you can quickly catch a cold. At this moment, it is important to do everything to allow the body to cool down.
For example, a contrast shower is not a good idea.
What to do to avoid getting sick after training? How to avoid catching a cold in the fall? Let's figure it out together with a sports doctor.
To avoid getting sick after training, you need to remember a few basic rules and understand how the body works. At the moment of intense load during the training process, the speed of all processes in the body increases, and we begin to sweat. Of course, if you go outside from the locker room in this state, you can quickly catch a cold. At this moment, it is important to do everything to allow the body to cool down.
In any case, after exercise, on average, up to two hours of time pass for complete recovery, when the body returns to its normal state. We tell you what to do to avoid getting sick.
Alexandra Puriga
Candidate of Medical Sciences, sports doctor, rehabilitation specialist
A cold is a common name for acute infectious inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. It is almost impossible to independently distinguish between ARVI, influenza and now coronavirus. This is the main risk: the influenza virus can penetrate the heart muscle, myocardium and cause inflammation - myocarditis.
Finish your workout the right way
You need to understand that any workout is stress for the body and the immune system after exercise is very vulnerable. Therefore, it is necessary to take special care of yourself at this time. So, 5-10 minutes of light running and stretching after exercise will help equalize your pulse, allow your body to cool down, stabilize your condition and relax your muscles.
But you shouldn’t take a hot shower; the optimal water temperature after training is 32-35 degrees.
Drink more water
After training, drinking plenty of fluids is recommended. But you shouldn’t drink a liter of water right away; you need to gradually restore the water balance in the body. It is better to drink 2-3 sips every five minutes. This will also help cool you down.
Don't rush to go outside
A smooth change in temperature is the most important nuance, otherwise the body will not have time to adapt. Don't forget to dress well and warmly, even if you just need to run to the car. After training, it is best, of course, to go straight home or to work. The main thing is that you survive the next two hours in some closed space, then the risks of getting sick will be minimized.
Alexandra: Failure of adaptation to an increase or change in physical activity is when the body tries to adjust its systems to reduce energy costs, but it fails. This condition is expressed, as a rule, by overwork, namely a state of pre-illness or disease (signs of pre-illness are reversible, unlike the disease itself).
Stick to systematic physical activity
Physical stress is an integral part of achievement in sports, but it should not be accompanied by stress on the nervous system. Therefore, to maintain immunity, it is important to maintain sleep and wakefulness, nutrition and exercise frequency.
Get enough rest
Restoration of the body and construction of muscle tissue mainly occurs during sleep, since most of the growth hormones and testosterone are produced at this time. Night sleep is a priority, but daytime sleep also has a restorative effect. Therefore, the combination of intense training and lack of sleep, according to the doctor, can cause a cold.
Maintain temperature conditions
Incorrectly selected temperature conditions (temperature of sports facilities and the environment, clothing) can cause profuse sweating. Therefore, it is important to choose clothes from modern technological materials that will not only maintain a static temperature of the skin, but also quickly absorb moisture and dry.
When exercising outside in the cold season, you should give preference to multi-layered clothing. The bottom layer is thermal underwear, and the top layer is a windproof suit. Staying in wet clothes during the cold season is dangerous to your health.
Alexandra: Supporting the body with adaptogens - ginseng, Chinese lemongrass - will strengthen the immune system. Also, the adaptive potential of a person is increased by the increasingly popular hypoxic training, in which oxygen consumption is slightly reduced - this helps to increase the functional reserve of the body. An analogue of such an effect can be barotherapy, in which a person is placed in a pressure chamber.
Temper yourself
“Cold treatment” at ultra-low temperatures accelerates metabolism, blood flow, and has a beneficial effect on the nervous system.
Alexandra: Any cold, even in a mild form, activates cortisol (stress hormone), which means it suppresses anabolism - stops the growth of muscle tissue. During training, catabolism (muscle breakdown) starts. And recovery after training in this state will not happen. You will work your muscles to a disadvantage.
What to do? Do not exercise until all signs of a cold have completely passed. If you have suffered a severe illness (with a temperature above 37.5, a prolonged cough and runny nose), give yourself 3-4 additional days to recover.
Keeping your normal caloric intake, divide it into 4-5 meals at intervals of 3-4 hours. The emphasis should be on long-term carbohydrates.
Source: championat.com
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Take a shower
Increased sweating leads to the growth of bacteria, which causes an unpleasant odor and can lead to skin diseases. To prevent this, be sure to take a shower. In addition, a cool shower speeds up the recovery process and gives you a boost of energy after exercise. If it is not possible to immediately resort to water procedures, then wipe the body with a damp towel and change clothes to prevent harmful microorganisms from multiplying on the skin.
Each workout is another step towards an ideal body. But it is important not only to organize the training correctly, but also to provide the necessary conditions for the body to fully recover after exercise. Follow these simple recommendations and you can achieve maximum results from your sports activities.
Pain during exercise
Pain from stretching a muscle under load
This occurs when a muscle is stretched by weight. For example, stretched glutes and hamstrings in the Romanian deadlift. This is a dispersed pain throughout the muscle, as if it is “tearing off” from the bone (figuratively speaking). Moderate sensations are normal. Moreover, it is assumed that controlled stretching of the muscle under load is one of the additional stimuli for muscle growth. Therefore, there is even a separate type of training based on “negatives”, when the phase of stretching the muscle under weight is deliberately long.
Pain-burning during exercise
A strong burning sensation in the muscle appears when it is under load for a long time, that is, 12 repetitions or more. Somewhere in the middle of the exercise, a burning sensation appears, and then from repetition to repetition it grows until it becomes so unbearable that it is impossible to continue.
Oxygen stops flowing to muscle cells; they are acidified by the breakdown products of the main muscle fuel during training - glucose. This chemical poisoning is also one of the stimuli for muscle growth, so training until the burning sensation is effective (although there is little pleasure in it).
Joint pain
Another type of pain during exercise is a sharp, needle-like pain in the joint that quickly increases from repetition to repetition. Many people train through pain, using bandages, orthoses, bandages, warming and pain-relieving ointments. But pain is a signal that it is dangerous to continue moving.
Pain in the joint (and probable injury in the future, as a consequence) can be caused by non-compliance with the technique, potentially dangerous and simply unnatural exercises for the joints, incomplete recovery of not only muscles, but also connective tissue between workouts, poor warming up before training, and poor posture. and incorrect joint position.
What is “overtraining” and why is it dangerous?
“Overtraining” refers to overtraining and excessive fatigue from regular exercise. “This is already a pathological condition with characteristic changes in functional, behavioral and biochemical parameters, requiring medical intervention. For athletes of any level, it is important to recognize the signs of overtraining in time,” says Ilya Voronov.
The expert recommends immediately contacting a doctor or trainer if you note the presence of at least three items from the list:
- decreased athletic performance;
- constant soreness (muscle pain) after any workout;
- lethargy, weakness, apathy, indifference or aversion to training;
- hand tremors at rest, lack of coordination of movements, muscle cramps;
- sensations of interruptions in the work of the heart, pre-fainting states;
- frequent injuries;
- frequent ARVI;
- appetite and sleep disturbances.
We have already written in detail about all the symptoms of overtraining.
A properly designed training plan (it is important that the load be dosed) and high-quality recovery will help you avoid overtraining. “Long-term signs of fatigue are a signal to reduce the intensity of training. Depending on the sport, you can reduce the working weight/working pace, distance, etc. - says Ilya Voronin. — Regularity of exercise is a priority over intensity: first of all, reduce the volume of the load, and lastly, the number of workouts. However, this rule does not apply to injuries. In this case, the decision on the exercise regime is made by the sports doctor.”
