Working out with sore muscles is often okay if soreness is mild (DOMS), as light movement increases blood flow, but pushing through severe pain risks injury, poor form, and overtraining; listen to your body, opt for active recovery (light cardio, stretching) for sore areas, or work different muscles, avoiding intense workouts that could worsen damage or lead to conditions like rhabdomyolysis if symptoms are extreme.
"Working out when sore is okay as long as it isn't affecting your movement to the point where it's causing you to compensate and do something in a way that's unsafe," says Dr. Hedt. "Muscle soreness can be a deterrent to exercising, but it's temporary and the more you exercise, the less you should feel it.
Instead of skipping all activity when your muscles are achy, try low-intensity movement, such as low-impact cardio and dynamic stretching, to help reduce soreness and support muscle recovery. In fact, not moving while feeling sore can cause your muscles and other soft tissues to tighten or stiffen.
If you continue your usual exercise regimen even when you're sore, you're not giving your muscles enough time to heal. In fact, pushing yourself during a bout of soreness can eventually lead to an overuse injury. Overall, you're at risk of causing harm to your body by not resting.
“My rule is that working out with a little bit of stiffness or soreness is okay. If it's a 1, 2 or 3 out of 10, that's okay. If it's getting above that, or the pain is getting worse during activity, or if you're limping or changing your gait, back off the intensity of the workout.”
8 Ways To Ease Post-Workout Muscle Soreness
"Typically, muscle soreness peaks around day three and starts diminishing afterwards. If your soreness persists beyond three days, it means you overdid it — you pushed your muscles a little too hard. But, prolonged muscle soreness can also be a sign of an injury," warns Murray.
A good place to start is with three rest days per week. This means you'll be strength training four days out of the week. Give your muscle groups 24-48 hours between workouts to allow those muscles to recover. An upper- and lower-body four-day split is a common program that gives three rest days per week.
What kills muscle gains most are poor recovery (lack of sleep, overtraining, high stress/cortisol), insufficient or poor-quality nutrition (not enough protein/carbs, excessive processed foods/sugar/alcohol), and inefficient training (too much cardio, bad form, focusing on isolation over compound lifts). Chronic stress elevates cortisol, which breaks down muscle, while inadequate protein, calories, and sleep directly impede repair and growth, making recovery paramount.
The "5 5 5 30 rule" is a popular, simple morning workout routine popularized by Sahil Bloom, involving 5 push-ups, 5 squats, 5 lunges (per leg), and a 30-second plank done immediately after waking up to build energy, focus, and consistency by kickstarting metabolism and getting blood flowing with minimal time and no equipment. It's designed to overcome inertia, boost physical and mental readiness for the day, and serve as a foundation for better habits, making it ideal for beginners or those needing a quick start.
Overtraining symptoms include persistent fatigue, prolonged muscle soreness, declining performance, mood changes (irritability, depression), sleep disturbances, increased resting heart rate, frequent illnesses, and loss of appetite, signaling your body isn't recovering from intense training, often requiring reduced activity and rest for recovery.
Post-exercise muscle soreness is a dull, aching sensation that follows unaccustomed muscular exertion. Primarily on the basis of previous laboratory-based research on eccentric exercise, soreness is usually said to follow an inverted U-shaped curve over time, peaking 24 – 48 hours after exercise.
Protein and Carbs: The Dynamic Duo for Muscle Recovery
If you do not get enough protein in your diet, your body can't effectively rebuild, and you might end up feeling even sorer or losing muscle over time. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, are the fuel that powers your activity and the recovery process.
Stretching aching muscles will boost blood flow and help breakdown the build-up of lactic acid. The key is that the stretches should be very gentle, to avoid inflicting further damage to the muscle groups. Here are five gentle stretching exercises that can help aid recovery from muscle soreness.
The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of cherries can help reduce the odds that exercise causes muscle damage and cure muscle soreness. Therefore, drinking cherry juice promotes rapid muscle recovery after exercise by improving strength, reducing inflammation, and reducing lipid oxidation levels.
The best foods for muscle recovery after exercise should contain protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. These macronutrients can help your body repair muscle damage and refill energy stores. Some foods — such as bananas, spinach, and oatmeal — also contain plant compounds that can reduce inflammation.
Exercise – Regular exercise is an effective natural pain reliever for chronic pain. It helps to reduce inflammation, improve mobility, and release endorphins, which are natural painkillers produced by the body.
The "2-hour protein rule" refers to the idea that consuming protein within about two hours after exercise is crucial for muscle repair and growth, often suggesting a 20-30g serving to kickstart the recovery process, though modern science shows muscles stay receptive to protein for longer (up to 24 hours). While getting protein in this post-workout window (sometimes called the "anabolic window") is beneficial, especially if training fasted, total daily protein intake and evenly spaced meals are generally considered more important for overall muscle health, with a broader window of 4-6 hours for optimal synthesis after workouts.
Doctors often advise caution with whey protein due to potential risks from excessive or long-term use, including kidney/liver strain (especially without exercise), digestive issues (bloating, gas), worsening acne, potential heavy metal contamination in some brands, and possible links to insulin resistance or heart issues from very high intake, with caution advised for those with milk allergies or kidney problems.
Simple upper and lower body stretches may take the edge off soreness. Ice or heat therapy. Cold therapy slows blood flow to relieve swelling and inflammation. Heat therapy speeds up circulation to treat tight, sore muscles.
This idea is incredibly common. People often treat soreness as a secret scoreboard: more soreness must mean more progress, more calories burned, more fat disappearing. But that's not how your body actually works.
How long is too long to be sore? DOMS typically lasts for 3-5 days and gradually subsides as your muscles adapt to the new activity. But if your soreness sticks around for more than a week, it's a good idea to take a break from your workout routine and seek professional help if necessary.
While it's tempting to associate soreness with progress, DOMS isn't a reliable indicator of an effective workout. Instead of chasing soreness, focus on goals like improving strength, endurance, or technique.
The 70/30 rule in fitness suggests that 70% of your physical results (especially weight loss and body composition) come from nutrition and diet, while only 30% comes from exercise (gym workouts), emphasizing that what you eat is far more crucial for changing your physique than just working out, though both are important for overall health and muscle building. It highlights that while the gym breaks down muscles (the 30% effort), the kitchen (the 70%) provides the essential fuel, protein, and rest for them to repair and grow stronger.
Signs that you're excessively exercising include feeling fatigued, a decrease in performance, proclivity for injury, changes in appetite, and mood changes. If you're experiencing any of these issues, try adding more rest after working out and take days to rest and recover.