Thursday, February 19, 2009

Treat Sore Pec Muscles

Whether you've been exercising for years, or just a few days, anyone can suffer from sore pec (pectoral) muscles. During a workout, our muscles get small tears in them. Our bodies repair these small tears. This is the process, which occurs repeatedly, that makes us stronger and improves our fitness, over and over and over again. Here are some tips and tricks on how you can treat your sore pec muscles.


Instructions








1. The best thing that you can do for sore pec muscles is to put ice them. When we've got sore muscles, they're usually inflamed. The ice will help the inflammation go down. Put ice in a plastic ziplock bag, wrap a towel around the bag and place it on your body, over your sore pec muscles. Put it on your muscles for 10 minutes, then take it off for 10 minutes. Repeat this process for an hour. If your muscles are still sore, continue repeating this process.


2. If you don't have any ice, open up your pantry. Look for a can of peas or corn. Open and drain all of the liquid from the can, then pour the contents into a plastic zip-lock bag and put it in the freezer. Frozen peas work great as an ice substitute.


3. Take an anti-inflammatory drug, such as ibproferin. Read the label before taking this, or any, medicines, to be sure that it's safe for you to take. Follow the dosage instructions as printed on the label.








4. Stretch! Stand up with your arms at your side. Gently bend (at the waist) from one side to another. Repeat this several times. You should feel your side muscles and your pecs as they stretch out. Raise your arms over your head while you're doing these stretches to get an even better stretch going. Sore pecs can be caused by tight muscles, so remember to stretch to warm up your muscles before you begin your workout.


5. When you're weight-lifting, you should always let your muscles rest for a full day before exercising them again. If you're still sore when it's time to exercise, take it easy. Lower how much weight you're lifting by half, and only do half of the repetitions that you had been doing. This will stretch your muscles without causing them to work hard.

Tags: your muscles, sore muscles, muscles your, over over, over your, Repeat this, small tears