[BigMommaTX]

I have been doing Pilates. and Kickboxing and Oy VEY Im sore. I took today off cause I was too sore. what are some tricks you all do to help with the soreness

[mandalinn82]

OK, first, try not to push yourself SO hard that you can't stay on plan due to soreness. You might want to back off a little bit until your muscles can handle more.

Now that you're sore, though, there are a few things you can do. First, take an NSAID (like Ibuprofen or Aleve) to help a bit. Drink tons of water to help the lactic acid get out of the muscles and excreted. I always like a long, hot bath to relax muscles - really seems to help me a lot. I like to use bath salts to make it smell nice, and usually I end up massaging the sore muscles while I'm in the tub to help them relax.

[GatorgalstuckinGA]

and don;t forget to stretch stretch and more stretch...after a hard workout you should stretch the next morning and night to help...and also follow what mandallin said.

[goinforthegold]

I agree with the others, stretch, stretch, stretch. Ibuprofen. A hot bath or heating pad can help.

But for me, I've found that pushing myself through another (different, perhaps less strenuous) workout helps the most. It gets oxygen pumping back into your muscles and works wonders. If you have sore legs...walk for a little awhile. If you have sore arms, try a few gentle arm lifts without weight while stretching. Just move the muscles around again as much as you can without hurting them more. The goal is to just get the blood flowing well, not really building muscle or anything so don't push it too hard. After doing the same workout a couple times the DOMS will improve too so don't worry.