3 Reasons It Feels Incredibly Good to Have Sore Muscles

I should make a disclaimer right away — I don’t mean sore muscles as in painful muscles — I mean muscles that feel worked out, that feeling where you know you’ve done a solid chunk of time at the gym, or at home, or outside — and your body is telling you: “yep, you really worked me out.”

This feeling has a bunch of great psychological benefits — and here are three of them.

You’re Awake, Everywhere

Being awake isn’t just about having your eyes open and being conscious about what’s going on around you — instead, when you can really feel your body, you start to realize that being awake means being able to feel every extremity.

Suddenly your arms are there, are present, are active. They aren’t just things you use when you need them, they’re extensions of your body, strong and fit.

You can feel the movement in your legs, the muscles working — every time you go for a walk or climb some stairs. This feeling of being awake in a physical sense, rather than just a mental one, is one of the great hidden benefits of being in shape, of working out on a regular basis.

Every Little Activity Becomes a Test

Need to lift something, or retrieve some object from a really high shelf? These things stop becoming annoyances, hindrances, things that simply get in the way — and start becoming little pleasures.

Suddenly, you’re taking some enjoyment out of moving a table from one side of the room to the other, and you’re not really sure why. But I’ll tell you — it’s because each little physical exertion reminds your body (and your mind) of that workout you pulled off earlier, of that good feeling you got when you really used your muscles for more than just typing on a keyboard, making a phonecall, or lifting your fork to your mouth (all useful activities — don’t get me wrong!)

And when it really gets great? That’s when you realize that playing in the park with your kids, running around with your dog, going for a jog with your boy/girlfriend, husband, wife, whatever — these kind of things are suddenly activities that you cherish all the more, that you really put your heart into — something that just isn’t as enjoyable when your body isn’t pulling its own weight.

You Feel Damn Good Going to Sleep

Ah, this one can’t be underestimated either — when your muscles are tired out from being well-used during the day, getting into bed and drifting off to sleep is an absolute joy.

There’s a real difference between simply being “tired” from a day’s activity and mental expenditure and actually being “spent” from a solid workout and a great amount of physical activity.

You feel like you’ve really earned that rest, like it’s really time to rejuvenate your body, that sleep is the best and ideal thing for you to be doing right now. It’s not something people bring up a lot in the gym, because it’s not so easy to, say — put on a poster (“Feel great for those 5 minutes before you go to sleep!” isn’t the catchiest slogan), but damn, it works.

Comments From You Guys

What are the things you absolutely love the most about feeling like your body has really been worked out? What’s the one hidden reward I forgot to mention here? Leave a comment and tell me!