Why do my legs ache after exercising

It is a common incident for someone who has just finished a heavy exercise routine to experience discomfort and aches in the target muscle group. There are more than just one reason to this and the most common reason is the lack of regular exercise or the lack of practice. When a person decides to take up exercising and starts with it, he/she is bound to experience a lot of muscle ache at the beginning because the muscles are unconditioned or in other words, not used to going through so much effort. Now, if you have worked on your legs in the gym or have started to cycle a lot recently, the ache you are experiencing is a result of inactive leg muscles becoming overactive all of a sudden. In order to stay fit and also to make your legs active again, you need to continue with the exercise in spite of the pain. After a while, pain or soreness of this sort will not be experienced anymore. Lack of proper stretching both before and after your exercise routine can also increase the intensity and duration of the soreness. Stretching your muscles is essential for speeding up the blood flow in and out of the muscle and it also relaxes hardened muscles in order to facilitate growth and reduce stiffness and pain.

It was believed earlier that the lactic acid build up within the muscles was responsible for the post-exercise soreness, but in 2006, the theory was opposed and it was stated that lactic acid is only responsible for the pain that we feel during and immediately after the session and not after that.

Muscle strain can be the reason for the post-exercise aches that one might experience. This phenomenon is known as the Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS. DOMS hits a beginner the hardest, but even conditioned athletes with years of professional training can experience it from time to time. Stretching, yoga, light exercises and massages are the best ways to relive yourself from the DOMS as these help keep the blood and energy flow constant to the sore leg muscles.