Although for many people, aches and pains rhyme with effectiveness, this is not so certain. Find out why being sore after exercise does not mean that your session was necessarily beneficial.
After a sports session, you find it normal to be sore everywhere the next day… However, these aches are the result of inflammation and are in reality linked to muscle microlesions, and then to muscle growth. It is very likely to feel them after starting a new sport or making a change to your usual training. Are they still the guarantee of a “successful session”?
Pain, a sign that is not linked to the effectiveness of training
Pain after exercise is associated with several factors such as genetics, the way in which the movement is carried out but also the stressful conditions imposed on the body such as a lack of warm-up, dehydration or poor sleep.
According to an American physiotherapy clinic Sheffield Physiotherapy, “the absence of aches does not necessarily mean that you are not in good shape and that you have not exerted yourself enough”. Pain and muscle growth are not directly linked and certain workouts that contribute little or nothing to muscle growth can still cause injuries. In summary, the experts conclude that “Aches and pains are not a good indicator of whether your training was successful or not”. So don’t judge your exercise routine based on how much pain you feel!
Moreover, many people who regularly practice physical activity no longer (or rarely) suffer from aches after their session. This is far from meaning that their training no longer works, but rather that their muscles are better able to handle the effort and therefore recover better. Therefore, aches and pains are above all an unpleasant experience and could also lead to a reduction in performance.
The importance of recovery
If they are not necessarily beneficial, you might as well avoid them! To do this, be sure to use loads progressively, increasing the volume and load of your workouts gradually, and at your own pace.
On this subject, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital believes that “any good training program must challenge the body but also allow adequate recovery. With too much challenge, the body will never be able to adapt to the activity”. Conversely “too little constraint will make training too easy to force him to adapt”.
Rest is necessary for the body can recover but the muscles must be “stressed enough to be stimulated”. Also be careful to avoid overtraining, after a certain point, muscular fatigue sets in over time with the risk of leading to injuries, and therefore slowing down the objectives.
For effective results, it is essential to find the right balance, specific to each person and each situation. For effective results, calling on a coach can be very useful.
Slide: 10 natural remedies for body aches
