That deep muscle soreness a day or two after a hard workout — DOMS — is normal, but it can make everything ache. The good news is you can ease it and recover faster. Here is what causes muscle soreness, how to ease it, and how to prevent the worst of it.

What Causes Muscle Soreness

Understanding DOMS: the the-delayed-onset-soreness (the DOMS being delayed-onset muscle soreness a day or two later from the soreness-guide logic — the delayed-onset), the the-from-hard-or-new-exercise (the DOMS coming from hard or unfamiliar exercise from the soreness-guide logic — the hard-or-new), the the-normal-and-temporary (the DOMS being normal and temporary from the soreness-guide logic — the normal-and-temporary), the the-muscle-adaptation (the DOMS being part of muscle adaptation and getting stronger from the soreness-guide logic — the muscle-adaptation), the the-not-a-sign-of-a-good-workout-necessarily (the soreness not being a required sign of a good workout from the soreness-guide logic — the not-required-sign), and the reframe (the muscle soreness as normal DOMS from hard or new exercise — a day or two after, temporary, and part of adaptation, easable and recoverable).

How to Ease It

Easing muscle soreness: the the-gentle-movement (the gentle movement and light activity to ease soreness from the soreness-guide logic — the gentle-movement), the the-stretching-and-mobility (the gentle stretching and mobility work from the soreness-guide logic — the stretching-mobility), the the-hydration (the staying hydrated to support recovery from the soreness-guide logic — the hydration), the the-rest-and-sleep (the rest and quality sleep for recovery from the soreness-guide logic — the rest-and-sleep), the the-nutrition-and-protein (the good nutrition and protein for repair from the soreness-guide logic — the nutrition-protein), the the-heat-or-a-warm-bath (the heat or a warm bath to soothe muscles from the soreness-guide logic — the heat-or-bath), the the-foam-rolling-or-massage (the foam rolling or gentle massage from the soreness-guide logic — the foam-rolling), and the the-time (the giving it time, as DOMS resolves on its own from the soreness-guide logic — the give-it-time).

The Prevention Notes

Minimizing future soreness: the the-progress-gradually (the progressing your training gradually to limit DOMS from the soreness-guide logic — the progress-gradually), the the-warm-up-properly (the warming up properly before hard work from the soreness-guide logic — the warm-up), the the-ease-into-new-exercises (the easing into new or harder exercises from the soreness-guide logic — the ease-into-new), the the-cool-down-and-stretch (the cooling down and stretching after workouts from the soreness-guide logic — the cool-down-stretch), the the-stay-consistent (the consistent training reducing soreness over time from the soreness-guide logic — the stay-consistent), the the-recover-well-between-sessions (the recovering well between hard sessions from the soreness-guide logic — the recover-between), the the-hydrate-and-fuel (the hydrating and fueling to support recovery from the soreness-guide logic — the hydrate-and-fuel), and the frame (the muscle soreness recovery as easing normal DOMS with gentle movement, stretching, hydration and rest — and preventing the worst with gradual progression and warm-ups — ease the DOMS. Ease it with gentle movement, stretching, hydration and rest, and prevent the worst by progressing gradually and warming up).

That deep muscle soreness a day or two after a hard workout — DOMS — is normal, but it can make everything ache; the good news is you can ease it and recover faster. DOMS is delayed-onset soreness from hard or new exercise, normal and temporary, part of muscle adaptation, and not a required sign of a good workout. Ease it with gentle movement, stretching and mobility, hydration, rest and sleep, nutrition and protein, heat or a warm bath, foam rolling or massage, and time. Prevent the worst by progressing gradually, warming up properly, easing into new exercises, cooling down and stretching, staying consistent, recovering well between sessions, and hydrating and fueling. Ease the DOMS.