Why Do My Muscles Hurt More When I Do Cardio After Lifting Weights?

If you love to work out, you might mix strength training (like lifting weights) with aerobic exercise (like running or cycling). But have you ever noticed your muscles are even more sore when you do both? Here’s why, and how to make your workouts work best for you.

What is Muscle Soreness (DOMS)?

After lifting weights, your muscles build up tiny tears, which is totally normal. This is called “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness,” or DOMS. It often starts a day or two after your workout. Your body sends blood and nutrients to help fix these tiny tears, and that’s what causes you to feel sore.

Cardio After Weights: Why Does It Hurt More?

When you do aerobic exercise the day after lifting, you’re asking already-tired muscles to do more work. Here’s what happens:

• Your muscles are still healing. Doing extra exercise can make them hurt more.
• Moving brings more blood to sore muscles. This sometimes feels good, but if you push too hard, it can make the pain stronger.
• If you work out hard, you might not feel the soreness right away because of endorphins (the body’s feel-good chemicals). But once you stop, the pain can feel even sharper.

Light activity can help muscles heal, but hard cardio right after lifting can sometimes make your soreness stick around longer.

Strength, Cardio & Burning Fat: What’s the Best Plan?

You might notice strength training alone doesn’t seem to burn as much fat as cardio. That’s true. Cardio burns lots of calories while you’re doing it.

But strength training is super important, too. Building muscle helps your body use more energy all the time, even when you’re resting.

The best plan? Do both. Mixing strength and aerobic exercise is great for your heart, helps burn fat, and makes your whole body stronger.

• Cardio is great for burning fat right away.
• Strength training helps you keep your muscle and burn more calories in the long run.
• Doing strength first, then cardio, can help burn even more fat during your cardio session.

Tips for Less Soreness

• If you feel sore, try light activity like walking or slow bike rides.
• Don’t push too hard with cardio after lifting if you’re already hurting.
• Let different muscles rest by doing different workouts on different days.
• Listen to your body. Rest is part of training.

Conclusion

It’s totally okay, and even smart, to combine both strength and aerobic exercise in your routine. You might feel more soreness if you do cardio right after heavy lifting, but doing both will help you burn fat, build muscle, and get healthier.

Just remember: mix things up, pace yourself, and give your muscles time to heal when they need it.