After a tough workout it is normal for people to suffer some muscle pain for a day or two during recovery. If you are a new to weight training, you will find that for the first couple of weeks you will find the muscle pain can be quite bad. I remember when I first started training with weights, many years ago! I think I had worked my arms and my chest, and I’d really pushed myself. I woke up the next day and could hardly move my upper body at all! It was even painful to touch! Even seasoned trainers still experience muscle pain after particularly hard workouts, or if they perform exercises that are new to them.
Apart from this muscle pain being uncomfortable, it can also affect performance. If you train again when you muscles are still sore, you can find that you strength will be diminished.
There has been research done into ways of reducing this muscle soreness, and the discovery that has been made is that certain fruits taken after exercise can reduce this soreness of the muscles. Fruits such as cherries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, consumed after a workout have been proven to help with the problem of muscle soreness. These fruits are high in phytochemicals, which have an anti inflammatory effect, which seems to be behind the positive effect they have on muscle recovery.
So try adding a handful of cherries, strawberries, blackberries or blueberries to your post workout protein shake and help reduce the time you spend suffering after a heavy training session.
Tags: muscle, muscles, weight training