Hey welcome back everybody to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays. Now this week, we are talking to those of you who are noticing that your body is actually getting achier from your workouts. You’ve been told that your body should feel better with exercise, but that hasn’t been the case for you. What things could you change with your workouts to help take you from feeling achy to feeling better?
1) Change Your Range of Motion
Our first exercise tip if your workouts leave you achy is to change your range of motion when you exercise, both the amount of motion that you are using and how fast you are moving through it. One of the biggest reasons why people continue to get achy and sore after they workout is they are using too much motion while they are exercising. We know this can seem contradictory, because you may often hear that you want to move “full range”, but unfortunately the pursuit of “full range” usually ends up leaving people feeling worse off. Additionally, people tend to move too fast through the motion that they are performing, which causes them to use momentum and ends up forcing them to move farther than they should. So, slow down and don’t try to move as far with your exercises and see how your body responds.
Action Step: Want more guidance on how to use exercise to build the health and function of your body? Join the One Workout Away Challenge, our 28-day challenge where we teach you how to use exercise to build your health. You can learn more and register for the next challenge that starts October 25 here.
2) Incorporate Isometrics
Our second exercise tip if your workouts leave you achy is to incorporate isometric exercises into your workout routine. Similar to our first tip, one way to ensure that you aren’t moving too far or too fast is to not move at all. Doing isometric exercises also allows you to be able to focus just on squeezing your muscles because you are not having to coordinate a movement. So, if you find it difficult to move slowly or limit your range of motion while you exercise, try doing isometric exercises instead!
Action Step: Sometimes moving slowly can be difficult, and it can also be challenging to fight the urge to move farther. Instead, try not moving at all and holding an exercise position for 30 to 60 seconds. You will likely have to use a lot less weight than you would if you were moving, but that’s okay; even though the weight will be less, the challenge to your muscles will be greater and your joints will be less likely to get stressed.
3) Incorporate Recovery Days
Our third exercise tip if your workouts leave you achy is to incorporate recovery days into your weekly and monthly exercise plans. Too often, we see people having the mindset of, “If I am going to exercise, it needs to be at 100% or nothing.” Unfortunately, this can leave many people either pushing themselves too hard or not working out altogether. One way to combat this is to build in a couple of recovery days throughout the week where you will still get a workout in but you give yourself permission to exercise at 50%-70%. Strategically implementing these days can not only help you recover better from your last workout, but will also help to make sure your body is more prepared for your next workout all while helping you stay consistent with your exercise.
Action Step: Interested in learning more about recovery days? Download the MAS At-Home Workout Program here to see how we incorporate recovery days into a 75-day workout program to help you stay exercising consistently.
