Tips to reduce soreness...

[Strix]

Does anyone have any tips, advice, or specific stretches to reduce soreness after a run?
I know lots of stretching works, but anything else? Or do you have specific stretches for all areas?
I am very sore right now. I have been out of my running routine due to my schedule being messed up recently, and I just got back into running yesterday. I am so sore all over! I was careful not to overdo it, but I'm still feeling it. Feels good though

Thanks

[ctchrinthry]

I get sore a lot. Keeping warm, maybe some hot tub/hot bath time and getting adequate food & water intake seem to help.

[prefab]

nothing against the previous post heat can occasionally be good for you but there are a couple ways you can increase your recovery. For one, try stretching at least 5mins before and after your runs let this be a minimum for you but do try and stick to it. Similarly, use ice and cold compresses before and especially after your run-try 3x15minson10mins off put a damp rag between you and ice to prevent frostburn and allow deeper, slower cold penetration. If you wanna be a true hardcore try 10-20minute soak in ice bath that covers your legs-do this after longworkouts asap. This will do wonders for your recovery time, but is tough to endure. Some massage and compression (wraps) will help also.
Essentially, after you've worked any muscle group hard the individual fibers will be strained/torn to various degrees. If you apply heat to this situation, it will only increase swelling, inflamation, and cell leakage. By stretching (wrings out acid) and cooling the tissue you help slow the damage and start recovery. The cooling effect of ice also causes a "micro-pumping" action in the muscles as they first contract and then eventually relax as they accomodate to the lower temperature. This helps effectively remove acid from the fibers. Most runners use the acronym RICE - rest, ice, compression, elevation as the treatment method.

p.s.-try freezing a cup of water in a styrofoam cup peel away styrofoam and use the exposed ice for compress ice rub. avoid heat for 72 hours
P.s.s.-use alkalizing drinks celery, parsley, spinach, cucumber, wheat/barley/alfafa grasses. All of which will alkalize your blood helping your body create an effective waste channel for lactic buildup in muscle tissue.
p.s.s.s-lol do a "recovery" run very short and easy pace

[ctchrinthry]

Does this apply to what to do when one is sore the next day? I stretch, but i've never iced after a workout. Maybe i ought to try it.

[justin]

I find the single best thing to help reduce muscle sorness from cardio, i.e running etc. is to ingest sugar as soon as possible.
Everyone knows, well should know that the hour after exercise is the GOLDEN HOUR for glycogen replenishment, but ingesting sugar and stretching (dispursing lactic acid into your blood for removal by your kidneys) after exercise near enough elimates all the soreness I am destined to get.

[Shinobi]

When you say "sore" are you refering to DOMS? What sort of running are you doing? There's no single remedy for it, like what has been already said, I can only recommend a proper warm-up and cool-down (5 mins light cardio followed by 5 mins stretching.) Different people find different things help for DOMS, some like to stretch, some like light actvity, some like hot baths, massage.

As your muscles become more conditioned to the stress DOMS will decrease in severity untill it no longer occurs.

[Strix]

- ctchrinthry, I have taken a bath of epsom salts and that seemed to help; I forgot about that!

-prefab, thanks for the info and suggestions. What do you mean by a recovery run? Do you mean just a cool down? Or do you mean an entirely separate run?

-justin, I always crave sugar after a run I usually eat fruit after a run; or another carb.

-shinobi, I've been running for years, but have been busy for the past weeks and haven't run. So I just got back into it after about 6 weeks [yikes! I've never gone that long without a run ] So I am sore all over -- my back, arms, legs, feet!
Excuse my ignorance, but I have no idea what DOM's are -- should I?

[justin]

I train with weights aswell as fitness work. I am a boxer, so I sometimes do sprints or fartleks or just jogging. Sometime just sparring and bag work, or weights.

Makes no real diiference whether it be cardio or working with weights, the same rules apply. Eat sugar and stretch to reduce sorness.

Fruit (fructose) is not the best choice of sugar to choose. Better off with dextrose, good old common sugar.

DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) will always occur, no matter how conditioned you get, it's a natural effect post exercise, you can't eliminate just reduce the effects.

[Strix]

I train with weights aswell as fitness work. I am a boxer, so I sometimes do sprints or fartleks or just jogging..

Ooh, yes, fartleks are great! I should start a round of those again. It's a great boost when my routine is getting stale How do you do yours? I do six to eight 60-second spurts throughout my run.

I like some boxing (watching!), but would be too chicken to do it myself, lol. I know there are women boxers, but, man, I don't think I could handle it. Well, maybe if they let me on celebrity boxing and I got to beat on someone obnoxious like Tonya Harding Nahh, I'm not violent, really.

[prefab]

Recovery runs are separate runs. Recovery runs are no more than 20% of my total weekly mileage. For example, if i'm doing weights that morning (3 days weights for me) I'll have a 3-6 mile run that evening or vice-versa. Or if I'm doing that middle of the week semi-long run (intermediate-advanced runners), I might do 8miles that morning and 4miles that evening with a friend. I might even mix that up a bit and may ride my bike the day after a long run 10+miles. The main thing thing is to fight the acid buildup by continuing the waste removal process. Active-recovery is "usually" the best way to keep this process going. You'll also benefit from the metabolism increase, this is great anabolic booster especially before meals. It helps elevate that insulin level pre-meal so that insulin (your carbohydrate delivery system for muscles) is ramping up as you sit down for your meal.

just a tip-- use carbos before/during/and-or after your first workout session if doing a double am and p.m. workout
sugar is great for this but choose wisely on your sugars some do not burn as cleanly as others. Reserve the more refined sugars for races/perfomances since they oxidize and leave more residue as they burnup. If you must-sources like molasses and maple syrup offer those carbs along with natural vitamins.

[fredrikw]

I train with weights aswell as fitness work. I am a boxer, so I sometimes do sprints or fartleks or just jogging. Sometime just sparring and bag work, or weights.

Somewhat unrelated, but I find it interesting that the word "fartlek" is used outside Sweden, the word means "speed play" or "speed game" in Swedish (fart=speed and lek=play or game).

[justin]

Strix - Fartleks - I like to do a variey, sometime 30, 60 sec bursts, but my favourite is lamp post fartlek, far easier to do, no messing around with stopwatch. Pick a street and just run down it and sprint from one lamp post to the next and then jog from the next so on.

prefab - My weight training is basically a powerlifting routine for my am workouts, I hit my legs etc quite hard and find I get very sore, if I run it puts me straight into a point of overtraining, I have trained for so long I have become very accustomed to the feeling within myslef when I'm overtrained. I find for recovery workouts swimming is the best as it non-weight bearing.

fredrikw - Very interesting, I never new that the word came from sweden.

[Strix]

-prefab, you're inspiring me to vary my workout. Mine is very boring right now. And I could benefit from a new boost to my metabolism. Thanks a bunch!:)

-justin, I don't bother with a stop watch either, I just count, lol
Wow, I wish I could swim too. I don't know if I could get into it...of course, having access to a pool might help .

-fredrikw, I read that too .

[justin]

strix - living in LA and you don't have access to a pool?????

[Malcolms Billy]

Excuse my ignorance, but I have no idea what DOM's are -- should I?

Hi Strix,
Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness, i.e jargon for having sore muscles that is exercise related. Usually your DOMS are at their worst 48 hours after a workout. No need to , only found out of this way of describing my sore muscles after a couple of years of working out.

See ya,
Billy