Sore muscles often mean that the workout has had an effect and so you are building muscle mass. Muscle pain is caused by small (useful) tears. Have you had a good workout, but massive muscle soreness? Muscle pain can be very annoying, especially if it interferes with your daily life and movements. Fortunately, you can do a lot yourself to prevent or relieve muscle pain. Get started with our 5 tips below and you will see how much you will benefit.

FIT tip 1: Warm-up and cool-down
Without a good warm-up, your muscles are more likely to ache after exercise. With a warm-up you prepare your muscles for exertion. A warm-up usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes and ensures that your muscles gradually loosen up. Especially just before a run, race, bike ride or other intensive sporting event, we recommend treating your thigh muscles, calf muscles, hamstrings, etc. with a small amount of FIT just before the start of the race (we have these handy mini tubes that you can easily take with you in your sports belt). Often you will have done a warm-up and sometimes (for all kinds of reasons) you will be waiting at the starting line for 10 minutes or more. The good effect of your warm-up will therefore diminish in effectiveness, but to keep your legs prepared, use your mini tube to treat your legs. The improvement in blood flow by massaging in FIT (just as your warm-up did) will then keep your muscles in maximum condition and guard against injury.

A good cool-down prevents your muscles from resting too quickly and the body from cooling down quickly. Take about 10 minutes for your cooling down and give your body time to switch from heavy exertion to rest. During your cool down, waste products can leave your body, which is important to reduce muscle soreness after exercise. Many endurance athletes take a hot shower after a cool down and then lubricate their legs with FIT Sports Balm. The muscle activity is then very nicely and gradually reduced, which means that unpleasant effects the next day such as stiff muscles, muscle pain, stiffness, etc. don't really stand a chance and your muscles are quickly back in good condition.

FIT tip 2: Massage your muscles
Massaging your muscles with FIT Massage Oil is part of good preparation that contributes to delivering maximum performance. Want to make sure you do not suffer from muscle soreness the next day? A massage with FIT Sports Balm can provide great relief from severe muscle pain after exercise. A massage with the right products ensures that the muscles receive extra blood flow and relax better. Also ideal after an intensive workout!

FIT tip 3: Keep moving
The temptation is great to take a rest if you suffer a lot of muscle pain, but it's better not to! By resting your muscles, you reduce blood flow, making your muscles slower to recover. Not moving will only make you stiff. It is better to keep moving, but slowly. Grab a bike and go for a walk around the block. This will prevent you from moving like a robot for days on end.

FIT tip 4: Treating muscles
When exercising, it is okay to push the limits, but never go extremely over them! Have you crossed your limit and now suffer from muscle pain in certain areas? Apply FIT Sports Balm to the sore spots; after all, the abbreviation FIT stands for ''Fast Injury Treatment'' and ensure that waste products are removed through better blood circulation. Indeed, waste products have a great attraction to the nerve roots in the affected area and cause various degrees of pain. Applying FIT Sports Balm to the affected area soon gives a relieving feeling. Keep your muscles fit!

FIT tip 5: Get a good night's sleep
Top athletes know better than anyone that a good night's sleep is important. After all, the body recovers during sleep and they make the most of it. They alternate rock-hard training with plenty of sleep. Quite simply, it is extremely important to get a good night's sleep; a (top) athlete really needs at least 8 hours of sleep. This allows you to recover much faster and better from heavy efforts.