Determine whether you should work out when you're sore. Meri Sehat provides insights into the considerations and best practices for exercising with muscle soreness

Should You Work Out When You’re Sore?

Yes and no. It depends on the muscle group or part of your body you want to target. The key is not let muscle soreness put you off exercise altogether.

Overview

Do you get that feeling when your whole body aches a few hours or even a day after a really good, intense workout? At best, it&rsquo;s just light discomfort and at worst, it&rsquo;s hard for you to move. You can feel that the muscles in your body have stiffened up and are as hard as rocks &mdash; and not in a good way. 

This is quite simply known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (Doms). And while some soreness after an intense or new workout is completely natural, having a &ldquo;no pain, go gain&rdquo; mindset can have serious consequences. 
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Rest To Heal And Repair: You need to know when your body needs to rest. The workout is important, but so is letting your body heal and recover. 

We feel sore because the muscles in our bodies have undergone microscopic muscle damage. This makes it more vulnerable to increased tissue damage or even muscle tears if it undergoes more stress before it has had time to heal. Allowing your body time to heal without damaging it further enables your body to adapt to your workout and get stronger. 

That&rsquo;s the idea behind resistance training. You&rsquo;re intentionally creating a microtrauma in the muscle so that when it recovers, it becomes stronger and denser than it was before. But feeling sore after a workout is not the same as having an injury, in which case you should seek medical help immediately. 

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Make Sure Your Soreness Is Not Actually An Injury: According to experts, a good way to tell the difference between whether your pain is Doms or an injury is to first check if the pain is bilateral. If only one leg is sore after you&rsquo;ve worked both could indicate an injury. 

For muscle tears, you&rsquo;ll also feel a sharp pain when doing normal movements in the area affected. In this case you should rest immediately and seek medical help. 

If this feels like normal soreness in a tendon, ligament or muscle, it&rsquo;s most likely Doms. You can also continue working out around it. 
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Feeling Sore

&nbsp;While most trainers will tell you it&rsquo;s okay to work out if you&rsquo;re feeling sore, you should stop if: 
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<ul>
	<li>It&rsquo;s Hard Or Unbearable For You To Get Out Of Bed: This includes if it&rsquo;s difficult for you to sit up or stand after an intense workout. This is your body&rsquo;s way of telling you need more time to rest before you start working out again.</li>
	<li>You Need To Take A Painkiller To Help You &ldquo;Push Through&rdquo;: If you need medication to help you work out, you probably shouldn&rsquo;t. </li>
	<li>Your Soreness Doesn&rsquo;t Improve With Movement: Sometimes the answer to fixing muscle stiffness is to warm them up through movement. A good way to get them going is to go for a light walk and do some warm-up stretches. If they don&rsquo;t feel better even after that, this may be a sign that your body needs more time to recover. </li>
	<li>You Continue To Feel Sore Days Later: Doms is usually at its worst 24-48 hours after the workout but if you&rsquo;re still feeling sore three to four days after working out, you probably need to see a physiotherapist or a medical professional to check for any underlying issues. </li>
	<li>Your Muscles Are Swollen And Urine Is Dark: You need medical help immediately. 
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</ul>

Tips

It&rsquo;s hard to stick to a workout programme, especially if you&rsquo;ve just started. People should not let muscle soreness put them off exercise.

Here are some tips to help you get started even when you&rsquo;re feeling less than your optimum self:

Take Time To Warm Up Properly: Light muscle soreness or Doms may lessen as your muscles begin to &lsquo;warm up&rsquo;. You need to engage in stretches that give your joints and muscles a full range of motion to stimulate them. After static stretches, try doing dynamic stretches. If <a href="https://merisehat.pk/article/why-strength-training-is-a-miracle-fitness-routine">strength training</a>, you can try going through the anticipated range of motions with lighter weights or at a lower intensity. 

Stretch Or Cool Down Properly Afterwards: People don&rsquo;t seem to place as much importance to cooling down, but how you allow your body to come to rest after a workout is just as important as warming up. Stretch, take deep breaths, allow your body to cool before moving forward.

Exercise Different Muscle Groups: If some parts of your body are feeling particularly sore, avoid working or stressing those muscles and focus on a different muscle group. For example, if strength training your lower body has left you with sore legs, focus on your upper body, and so on. The key is not to give up or stop working out altogether. 
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Conclusion

Some muscle soreness after working out is normal. It&rsquo;s your body&rsquo;s natural process of adapting to your new workout routine or the new intensity you have introduced it to. If you are experiencing a lot of soreness, it is best to let your body rest for one to two days. You can work out while sore, but you should focus on a different group of muscles. Don&rsquo;t use muscle soreness as an excuse to stop working out. 

And finally, if you think the pain you are feeling is more than just normal soreness post-workout, seek medical attention immediately. 
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