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In 2009 the British comedian Eddy Izzard ran 43 marathons in 51 days, touring the UK – running 26 miles a day. He did this with 5 days preparation in advance! People thought the 47 year old international stand up star nuts, but he did it. In a BBC TV documentary it seemed the worst part of the adventure wasn’t having to get up and do it again every day, but the 10 minute ice baths he took every evening to recover his muscles for the next day. In a report on the adventure the BBC stated “daily ice baths are a necessary evil, he says, ‘to stop your legs inflating to twice the size of an elephant”.
Stiff muscles after exercise is a condition called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. According to the website WebMD the pain comes when physical exertion causes microscopic tears in muscle fibers. “Scientists believe this damage, coupled with the inflammation that accompanies these tears, causes the pain.”
Research shows there are other ways, but ice baths are the best thing to do if you’re going to get up and do it again the next day. “It was noted that acupuncture, herbal remedies and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (injured athletes breathe 100% oxygen) were of limited use. However, the review did indicate that of all the therapies examined, icing the affected area was the most effective.“
Other research shows that warming the limbs up can help. WebMD suggests “when muscle temperature is increased, blood flow increases, bringing fresh oxygen and healing nutrients to the injured site”. A hot bath can help as well as an ice bath – I know which one I’d go for any day!
The torment of dunking your sore legs in freezing water is your best bet if you’re on a major training regime or physical adventure. Your writer doesn’t run 1118 miles in just under two months – like you I like a blast from time to time but nothing superhuman. What about normal people who don’t have to do something so crazy and don’t want to torture themselves after it?
The best advice, particularly if you’re pushing yourself to get rid of your belly or shrink your butt (and need to push it but gently) is gentle exercise, building yourself up to the big stuff after a matter of weeks or months. WebMD suggests “keeping the muscle in motion can also provide some relief.”
The important thing is not to do an Eddy Izzard and go from zero to hero overnight! A 2003 study on DOMS suggests you should start gently with your exercise plan and ease in to the regime. “It has been reported that repeated bouts of lower intensity eccentric exercise performed 1-6 weeks before the initial higher intensity eccentric bouts have been shown to consistently reduce DOMS and exercise induced muscle damage.”
Most people who run marathons start by running a few miles a week and get into the swing. Almost no one will achieve a decent time if they expect to run for 4-5 hours nonstop after sitting in their armchair or at their desk all the time. It is also important to warm up and stretch before the session, and warm down after. The 2003 study says “traditional warm-up before exercise has been suggested as a means of preparing the body for exercise, improving athletic performance”. If you attend an aerobics class a good leader will have you stretch and warm up before going into the high intensity stuff. Anecdote and science suggests the boring stretching and warm up will make life easier in the days after the workout. This applies to all exercise.
I’m a walker – I enjoy mountain and coastal walks. I’ll push myself hard on an 8 mile walk and spend the next day in some pain. Perhaps taking the advice you see here I’ll be able to do more walks every week and not get out of bed like a rusty robot the next day! The same, I hope, applies to you.
Photo - Racchio Creative Commons 2.0