The Truth About Working Out When You're Sore

You knocked out a tough workout yesterday, and today your body is reminding you of every squat, pull-up, and lunge you completed. Your legs feel like concrete. Your shoulders are stiff. Walking down stairs has become its own workout. Your first instinct is probably to lay low and move as little as possible. Ironically, that's often the exact opposite of what your body needs.

One of the best ways to recover from muscle soreness is to come back to the gym.

Before you panic, I'm not suggesting you repeat yesterday's workout at full intensity. One of the greatest strengths of CrossFit is that every workout can be scaled and modified to match how you're feeling on any given day. Some days you'll push hard. Other days your goal is simply to move well and recover.

Understanding Muscle Soreness

The soreness you're feeling is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).

Most people notice DOMS beginning about a day after a tough workout, with soreness often peaking 24 to 72 hours later. It's caused by tiny amounts of damage to muscle fibers, particularly during eccentric movements, where muscles lengthen while under tension. Think lowering into a squat, descending from a pull-up, or controlling the barbell back to the floor.

While it may not feel great, DOMS is a normal part of your body adapting to training. As your muscles repair themselves, they become stronger and more resilient. Most soreness fades within three to five days.

It's also important to remember that soreness is not a measure of progress. As you become more consistent with your training, your body adapts, and you'll often experience less soreness while continuing to build strength, improve conditioning, and increase muscle.

That's why many experienced CrossFit athletes leave a challenging workout feeling accomplished and fatigued, but not necessarily sore the next day. Of course, soreness can still happen from time to time, especially after introducing a new movement, increasing training volume, or tackling a particularly demanding workout.

Help Your Body Recover

Although soreness is sometimes inevitable, there are several things you can do immediately after training to support recovery.

Prioritize protein after your workout. Consuming 20 to 40 grams of high-quality protein within about 30 to 45 minutes after training provides your muscles with the amino acids needed to begin repairing damaged tissue.

Get quality sleep. You've probably heard this before, but sleep is one of the most powerful recovery tools you have. A solid night of sleep helps to repair muscles, release growth hormones, and lower inflammation. If your healthcare provider recommends it, magnesium may help support relaxation and improve sleep quality, giving your body more opportunity to recover overnight.

Use self-massage or a massage gun. Foam rolling, massage guns, or other forms of self-myofascial release may help decrease muscle stiffness, improve circulation, and temporarily reduce the perception of soreness.

Now, here’s the part that sounds counterintuitive to many…

Why Moving Actually Helps

When you're sore, complete rest often makes you feel even stiffer.

A light workout gets you moving again. As your body warms up, stiffness usually begins to fade, and increased circulation helps support the recovery process.

This doesn't mean the workout should become another all-out effort. It should feel manageable. You might reduce the weight, decrease the volume, slow the pace, or substitute movements that are less demanding on the sore muscles.

This is where great coaching makes all the difference. There isn't a single "right" way to approach a workout when you're sore. Our coaches evaluate how you're feeling and help tailor the workout so you still get the intended benefits while also supporting recovery.

Keep Showing Up

While there are times when rest is appropriate, especially if you're experiencing sharp pain, swelling, or an injury, ordinary muscle soreness usually responds best to gentle movement rather than complete inactivity.

So the next time your body is protesting yesterday's workout, don't automatically stay home. Come to class, let your coach know how you're feeling, and trust your coach to help you make the right training decision for your body that day.