Getting sore after a workout is often interpreted as a good thing, but being sore all the time will not help you make progress. It will make you move worse, stand worse, and approach your next workout with trepidation. If you’re feeling this way, you’re probably doing too much. Instead of trying to push through, dial it back a notch. Your progress depends on challenging yourself, but also on recovering from those challenges so you can do it all again. So if you’re getting too sore, you’re probably reducing your rate of progress in the long run.
It might help to focus less on doing as many reps as you can, and more on moving in a slow and deliberate way until you can’t maintain good form. If you’re doing lunges or squats, for example, focus on squatting down slowly and keeping your balance, rather than trying to go as deep or as fast as you can. This will reduce the amount of unnecessary damage you do to your muscles, and still work them enough to get stronger. It will also help you develop your sense of how your joints fit together, which can help you avoid the compensations that lead to soreness.
You might also be skipping your warm-up. I know it seems like a waste of time, or unnecessary, but you should always warm up before you do an exercise. This means doing some light cardio for a few minutes, and then mimicking the motions of your workout at a slow speed. This could be marching in place before you go for a run, swinging your arms around before you lift, or doing shallow squats before you squat. Get those muscles warm before you up the intensity. Then, when you’re warm and loose, you can start your workout without shocking your system.
You could also try doing a little bit of cardio on your rest days. I don’t mean a full workout or anything like that. Just do something light for 10-15 minutes. Jump on a treadmill and walk, or do some jumping jacks, or just shake your limbs out. Loosen yourself up a bit without tiring yourself out. Sometimes this can help reduce your soreness just by getting you moving a bit. Don’t push yourself, though. Remember you’re not trying to work out. You’re just trying to help your body recover.
As you get into better shape, you won’t get as sore, and it won’t last as long. So if you’re getting sore after every workout, you might be doing too much too fast. So try dialing back the intensity a bit and focusing on warming up and cooling down. Do a bit of cardio on your rest days if you need to. All of this will help you feel better, and help you make more progress in the long run.
