How to deal with crepitation and is it necessary?

Almost everyone who does sports has at least once in their life felt terrible after a workout: the body can hardly move, arms can’t rise, everything hurts. This phenomenon is called crepatura. Is it dangerous? How to reduce the pain? We asked World Class master trainer Stanislav Vakhrushev about it.

What causes crepature?

If you have ever experienced this unpleasant sensation, you have probably heard that crepitation is an indicator of successful training. But that’s not true at all.

Causes of crepitation:

• the first workout;
• adding a new exercise to a workout;
• increasing the intensity of an exercise already in your program (increasing the amount of weight lifted, repetitions or speed);
• doing the same activity over and over again without sufficient rest breaks.

Everyone is at risk of muscle soreness, even bodybuilders and other professional athletes. During exercise, you strain your muscles and the fibers begin to break down. As the fibers self-repair, they become bigger and stronger than they were before. This means your muscles will be better prepared to handle the stress the next time you exercise.

Is there any way to avoid crepature?

Before your workout, prepare your body to increase blood flow to your muscles and relax them. This will reduce the risk of injury and help reduce soreness.

Taking breaks between approaches is also very important, as reducing your heart rate and breathing gradually lowers your body temperature. This will give the muscles time to return to their normal length and increase blood flow, which will help avoid soreness.

One of the best ways to prevent crepatura, especially if you are a beginner, is to start any new exercise program carefully and gradually. Give your muscles time to adapt to the exertion. To do this, use a treadmill, exercise bike, or any other low-intensity activity prior to a vorkout.

Stanislav: After the main warm-up it is necessary to perform prestretching – stretching exercises with a small amplitude, 5-7 seconds for each muscle group. And after the main part of the strength training it is not unreasonable to perform stretching exercises in static – to relax and reduce the heart rate!

What should I do if I still have pain after strength training?

The worst thing you can do is sit still.
Blood carries nutrients and oxygen to muscle tissue. The faster these compounds get to their destination (via the bloodstream), the faster they start working, the faster you’ll feel better.

This doesn’t mean you have to go back to your regular workouts. Light activity, at least a walk or stretching exercises, will do.

The key word is “light.” Stretching is a great way to release tension, which can make you feel better, even though it won’t heal torn muscles or make them recover faster.

Stanislav: A sauna or sauna is great for reducing soreness. On the third day after vorkout, you should do light aerobic exercise in order for the lactic acid to leave the muscles faster. Low-intensity work – light shaking or erratic movements of the limbs – will be good in the main part of the workout between strength training approaches. This will allow the lactic acid to leave the muscles faster and prepare you for the next approach. Consequently, recovery will be much faster and it will most likely get rid of crepature.

Of course, don’t forget about protein. Protein is an important nutrient for building and keeping muscles in shape, so it plays a huge role in recovery after a hard workout.

Can I exercise if the pain is still there?

You can exercise with crepitus, although it may be uncomfortable at first. The pain will go away once your muscles warm up. However, the discomfort is likely to return after exercise when your muscles cool down.

If you find it difficult to perform the exercises, rest until the pain goes away. Alternatively, you can focus on exercises that target the less affected muscles to give the most painful groups time to recover.

Stanislav: On the third day after strength training, even if there is crepature, you just need to exercise. But the load should be low, below average, because low-intensity work will restore muscles faster. Otherwise, crepature can last for a long time.