What Is Your Body Telling You?

If Your Last Workout Left You with Sore Muscles...

Q: Stay as still as possible, or get moving?

A: When it comes to exercise, a little bit of what ails you will indeed make you better. "A hard workout causes muscle breakdown at the cellular level," explains Andrew Pruitt, director of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine in Colorado. "The quickest way to heal those sore, damaged muscles is to move them, which increases blood flow and delivers nutrients where you need them." Gentle movement such as walking is a great form of active recovery. But any easy exercise will work, Pruitt says. "You'll not only heal faster but also burn more calories than if you just sat around." 

— Selene Yeager