Relieve Muscle Soreness

Your perfect, grapefruit-shaped glutes aren't the only things suggesting you've been working hard. Your tired, creaky muscles are aching for a little attention too. Melt away muscle tension with a few good rubs and keep your pain from sidelining your workouts. Muscle creams are generally easily to find, and they soothe varying levels of soreness - even after just one application. Most work by boosting circulation enough to remove lactic acid, a buildup of muscular debris that occurs when you pump blood to your muscles faster than it flows back to your heart.

The way you apply muscle cream can mean the difference between straight-legging it to work like Frankenstein and striding out in heels. To start, slather the stuff on, then apply firm, even pressure, always styroking toward your heart. (For Legs, work from ankle to knee and repeat. For arms, stroke from elbow to shoulder and repeat).

Here are more tricks to maximize your muscle rub:

>>Calves. Start with your thumbs together behind the center of your calf and pull them apart toward the outside of your muscle, rubbing firmly in a circular motion.

>>Butt. After you appply the product, take a tennis ball and sit right on it, keeping it under one side of your glutes. Roll around to break up knots, pausing at extra sore spots for 15 to 30 seconds. Switch sides.

>>Arms. Wrap one hand around your arm and firmly stroke. Spend extra time on biceps and forearms, which tend to be sore from overuse. Using fingertip pads, rub in a circular motion.

>>Neck. First, lightly hold your head with both hands, fingers up, and place your thumbs at the base of your skull. Rub small circles with your thumbs all along the base. Next, place the fingertips of both hands right alongside the top of your spine, and firmly pull them down toward your shoulders, away from each other. Apply pressure using small, firm strokes with three fingers.

>>Lower back. Place your thumbs on either side of your spine, and pull down toward your hips with long, even strokes. Next focus on specific sore spots deeply circling your fingertips for 15 to 30 seconds. To finish, place thumbs on hips, fingers down, and rub fingers up in a circular motion, pulling your back muscles away from your spine.