Ladies, if you’ve discovered a love for fitness and working out, kudos to you! Whether you’re working out to get into better shape or get stronger and leaner, we can’t stress enough on the positive benefits it can have on your overall wellbeing. Exercise helps us to balance our hormones, improve our mood, boost energy, and reduce the stress in our body and mind. Exercise also helps us sleep better; making us feel more rested and feeling ready to take on the day ahead. 

Now that we know exercise is good for you, what else is there to consider? Well, working out, especially after a day where you have pushed yourself to your limits, can come with the aftereffects of having sore muscles. This can set you back and limit your progress. That’s why having a proper recovery plan should be an important aspect of your training program. With the right balance of exercise and recovery, you’ll be on the path to being the best version of yourself. So, let’s get to it!

Why do my legs hurt when I exercise?

This is a question many of us who exercise regularly ask ourselves. This hurt is caused by muscle soreness after a workout. Following an intense workout, your body needs time to repair and re-energize. During strenuous physical activity, muscle tissue breaks down, fluid is lost, and energy stores are depleted.

Recovery allows the body to repair damaged muscle tissues and to replenish energy stores. This ultimately leads to bigger muscle fibers.

Post-workout recovery for women

If you're wondering ‘how to reduce soreness after work out’, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a list we’ve compiled on what helps sore muscles recover faster.

1. Hydrate

Drinking water during and after your workout is important to keep yourself from becoming dehydrated. How much water is needed? Weigh yourself before and after exercising. Drink about 2 cups of fluid for every pound of body weight lost.

2. SPRYNG Active compression solution

How to relieve sore muscles after a workout? Sit back, put on your SPRYNGs! Or, go ahead and get yourself a pair if you don’t have one already. Recover better than you could have ever imagined. Active Compression is an effective way to improve circulation, flush lactic acid, and increase oxygenation to muscle tissues to get you back on your feet faster.

3. Nutrition

An optimal, healthy diet is essential for proper recovery. Aim to eat a meal rich in protein, carbs and healthy fats within 30 to 60 minutes of your workout to replenish nutrients that may have been lost during exercise.

4. Rest

This is one of the simplest and most effective things to do following a hard workout. After working a muscle group, a 24- to 48-hour rest period is needed for optimal recovery. We recommend training upper body on one day and working your lower body on the next. The time taken to rest allows your tissues to repair themselves and help reduce your muscle pain after a workout. Optimal sleep is an equally important aspect of this. During sleep, your body produces Growth Hormone which is largely responsible for tissue growth and repair.

5. Stretch

After a tough workout, consider gentle stretching. This is a simple and fast way to help your muscles recover.  There you have it, ladies. Try it out and feel the difference. Remember, we must make exercise and recovery a priority. Put your best foot forward in all that you do, including taking care of yourself!