The food you eat is important. Get your diet right and you’ll give your muscles the energy they need to grow. Growing your muscles faster. More importantly, though, you’ll be able to reduce the amount of soreness you are feeling.

Without getting the basics in place, you could be setting yourself up for a painful time in the gym. Muscle recovery is important. Neglect this step and you risk pushing your muscles too far. Leaving you nursing a painful injury. Forcing you to take weeks off while you recover.

The good news is that optimizing your diet isn’t as tricky as you might think. No need to eat bland meals. Let’s look at the basics.

Why Do You Experience Muscle Soreness After An Intense Workout?

Why do you get muscle soreness in the first place? It’s usually part of a process known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). You aren’t injured. Take it as a sign that your workout was effective.

In order to build new muscle, we have to tear the old muscle. When the muscle heals, it will come back stronger. Increasing your muscle mass. To keep the growth going, you need to switch to heavier weights. Keeping the pressure on your muscles. Allowing you to keep building muscle mass. DOMS only sets in a few days after your workout. You’ll start feeling it 24 to 48 hours after you leave the gym. Within three days the soreness will fade away.

DOMS is a normal part of the process. Feel free to ignore it as best you can. But there are some types of pain that you shouldn’t ignore. DOMS is a dull soreness that goes away within three days. If the pain lasts for an extended period, it’s a sign there is something wrong. You might have strained a muscle. Consider consulting with a doctor. Make sure it isn’t something more serious. Give yourself some time to rest and recover.

Best Foods To Reduce Muscle Soreness

Muscle recovery consists of two elements. Rest and diet. There’s not much you can do about rest. Just give your muscles the time they need to heal. But you can affect the diet side of the equation. Give your body the right food. Recover faster. Get back to training quicker. Sound good? Here are some of the foods you should be focusing on.

Eggs

There is a reason why eggs are an integral part of a bodybuilding diet. They are packed with protein. Even better, the protein is highly bioavailable. Easy for your body to absorb. Allowing you to use more of the amino acids. These are the building blocks that make up your muscles.

Starchy Vegetables

Vegetables aren’t created equal. During recovery, starchy vegetables come out on top. Focus on things like sweet potato, sweetcorn, peas, parsnips, beetroot, and butternut squash. These give your body energy. In particular, they help you rebuild your glycogen stores. Once you start running low on glycogen, you’ll start to feel lethargic. Your gym sessions will suffer. You won’t be able to push yourself as hard. Slowing how quickly you can gain muscle.

Manuka Honey

This recommendation won’t be easy on the wallet. Manuka honey is one of the most expensive ingredients available. Coming from New Zealand. Where it’s produced from the Manuka tree, hence the name. But, in our opinion, it’s worth paying a little extra for. It provides two important benefits.  Fighting inflammation and giving your body energy. Just what you need to help you recover from the symptoms of DOMS.

Fatty Fish

Seafood should be an important part of your diet. Particularly fish that are high in fat. Species like tuna, salmon, and sardines are a great choice. These are packed with Omega-3. This plays an important role in the recovery process. It helps your body fight inflammation. Limiting the amount of swelling your muscles experience. They are also a great source of protein, which your body needs to grow new muscle.

Oatmeal

Muscle recovery starts in the morning. With the right choice of breakfast. Oatmeal should be your go-to meal. It can help you replenish your glycogen levels. Giving you the energy you need to tackle the day ahead. There are some other benefits that you can explore. They help your digestive system. This is easy to overlook. But oats will make things easier in the bathroom, keeping you regular. Oatmeal is also great for those on the cutting cycle. A meal of oats will leave you feeling full. Cutting down on your desire to snack throughout the day. Making it easier to stick to your diet, so you can lose weight faster.

Whey Protein

Whey protein is one of the most common tools in a bodybuilder’s arsenal. With good reason. Protein helps you repair muscle. Helping you pack on the muscle mass. Due to its popularity, there are plenty of ways that you can use Whey protein. Mix it into your morning smoothie. Sprinkle some onto your yogurt. Turn it into a milkshake. Other ingredients, like Manuka honey or fresh fruit, will add flavor.

Dairy Products

Dairy products aren’t just delicious. They are also packed with important nutrients. Get things like potassium, phosphorous, Vitamin B12 and B2, and sodium. These are perfect for helping you grow new muscle and repair any damage your muscle might have sustained. Even better, dairy is a great source of energy. Giving you the fuel you need to push yourself hard in the gym.

Coffee

Some people might be surprised to see coffee appearing on this list. But, when used correctly, it can be invaluable during recovery. Caffeine gives you a shot of energy. Perfect for pumping yourself up before a grueling gym session.  But that’s not all it does. Caffeine also blocks your pain receptors. Limiting how sore and tired your muscles feel.

Water

Don’t underestimate the importance of proper hydration. Water will help protein synthesis, allowing you to speed up the recovery process. The amount of water needed varies slightly, depending on your gender. Men need at least 15.5 cups. Women require at least 11.5 cups.

Bulking Supplements

Supplements can be a great way for bodybuilders to take their gains to the next level. They contain everything you need to boost your muscle growth. Getting the most out of your time in the gym. Don’t fret. We know there are a lot of dodgy products on the market. But Crazy Mass is legit. All our products are rigorously tested to make sure they are safe and effective. Only natural ingredients are used. So, why take your chances with a dodgy steroid, made in a black-market lab when you can get something that is made by a reputable company with FDA oversight? When actively building mass, pick the bulking cycle pack.

Foods You Should Be Avoiding

Of course, not all foods have a place in your diet. There are some that can make training less effective. Some might even make DOMS soreness worse. Here’s a list of the things to cut out:

• If you want to build the body of your dreams, you need to cut back on the booze. Studies show that people who consume alcohol experience lower muscle gains. Even if the rest of their diet was rich in protein.
• Foods high in sugar and fat. Put the fast foods to one side. Resist the urge to take the plate of cookies. These foods are packed with empty calories. They only add to your waistline. They don’t have anything to help your body grow new muscle. Not to mention the long-term health problems. Heart attacks and strokes are higher among people who eat fatty food regularly.
• Sugary drinks. These are full of empty calories. More fat that you have to burn off during the cutting cycle. Even worse, they are often full of salt. Making you extra thirsty. Adding water weight.
• Refined calories. Some foods, like white bread, are high in calories and low in nutrients. This will just give you extra fat, which you need to work hard to burn off.

 

You don’t need to completely eliminate these foods from your diet. You can still enjoy them occasionally as a treat. For some people, this can be a good source of motivation. Just be careful about the amount you consume.

It’s best to prepare your meals yourself. Allowing you to control what foods you consume. Sometimes, it might be a good idea to consult with a nutritionist. They’ll work with you to come up with a suitable meal plan. Or check out some online recipes for inspiration. Just because you’re on a diet doesn’t mean you have to endure flavorless slop.

Then, you just need to stick to the diet. Arguably, this is the hardest part. Don’t be too harsh on yourself if you slip up. Particularly if you are new to the bodybuilding world. Shame and disappointment will just make you more likely to slip up again in the future. Instead, it’s best to think about what caused you to slip up. Once you know why it happened, you can take steps to eliminate those circumstances from occurring in the future.

Other Ways You Can Reduce Muscle Soreness

Focusing on your diet is a good start. But it isn’t the only way you can limit the pain from DOMS. Here are some other things you should keep in mind.

Target Muscle Groups To Manage The Pain

Muscle soreness is a sign that it’s time to stop training those muscle groups. Ignore this at your own peril. You might be risking serious injury. But that doesn’t mean that you need to stop training entirely. Instead, it’s best to create a workout plan that allows you to target muscle groups. Spend a few days resting one muscle group. While you focus on another.

It’s also important to make sure that you are regularly incorporating whole-body rest days. You might do minimal activity on these days. For example, you might only do some light cardio. Aim to take one to two days of rest per week. Every three months, take a longer break. Take a whole week off. If you are just starting out, you might want to take more frequent rest breaks. Two to three days a week.

Warm Up And Warm Down

Before you start your workout, warm up. Prepare your muscles for the intense activity they are about to experience. There are plenty of ways you can do this. You might want to try some light cardio. You can also do some compound exercises. Activities like pushups or planks. Or you can try stretching. Whatever works best for the type of workout you are planning.

Once the workout is over, take some time to warm down. Switch from a vigorous activity to something less intense. The warm-down doesn’t have to take long. Five to ten minutes should be enough.

Get Blood Flowing To Your Muscles

Blood carries the vital nutrients to your muscles. Better blood flow means a faster recovery. There are a few ways you can increase blood flow. You can get a sports massage. They’ll know which pressure points to target to reduce your soreness. You can also get a massage gun. It replicates the effect of a massage. And you can do it from the comfort of your couch. A third option is to wear compression gear. This can go under your clothes when at work, easing the soreness during the day. Lastly, try a foam roller. These can also be used as a warm-up at the start of your routine.

Try An Ice Bath

Finally, you might want to try taking an ice bath or cold shower at the end of your workout. This might be a little uncomfortable, particularly if you haven’t done it before. But there is a good reason to tough it out. Cold water or ice stops muscle inflammation. Limiting swelling and quelching the pain of DOMS.

Conclusion

Having to deal with sore muscles after an intense workout sucks. While you can’t eliminate muscle soreness entirely, you can use a diet to minimize the pain. On the bright side, your discomfort lets you know your workout is effective and you’re building muscle mass.