Fitness freaks indulge themselves in strenuous training to achieve their goals. But some underlying cons are often unnoticed.

One such problem is T-Rex arms after a workout, post-workout muscle soreness is a common problem.

If you feel excessive rigidity in your arms after a workout and you cannot figure out possible reasons for its cause and how you can prevent it, then this blog is a complete guide to T-Rex arms.

The occurrence and duration of T-Rex arms may vary depending on your stamina and muscle condition.

What Are T-Rex Arms After A Workout?

T-Rex is a term used to describe muscle soreness, especially in your arms.

Muscle soreness or tightness occurs may be due to extensive weight training or an arm workout.

When your upper arms are heavily involved in hard exercise, you are likely to have T-Rex arms after a workout.

You can experience T-Rex arms immediately after a workout session, or it may prolong up to the next day.

Why Are They Called T-Rex Arms?

You get sore arm muscles after the workout which leaves your biceps in a stiff condition.

In such an unpleasant and uncomfortable situation, it becomes difficult for an individual to straighten their arm, which makes it appear to be short.

You might have heard about the T-Rex dinosaur breed, which has extremely short arms; as compared to the other parts of the body.

Due to the short arm similarity, this phenomenon is known as T-Rex arms.

Causes of T-Rex arms

Feeling stiffness and not being able to straighten your arms is normal post-workout. Different causes of T-Rex arms are mentioned;

Tried New Resistance Training

Weightlifting beginners often try to lift more weight than a beginner.

It is a natural reaction when you are starting a journey, your spirit is high, and you tend to choose the mid-range weight to reach your target goal as early as possible.

Doing this will not help you. On the other hand, you will tire out sooner than expected and get T-Rex arms.

Even when you take a break from the gym, your muscles go back to the resting position.

And when you get back to the gym, your biceps and forearm get involved in heavy weightlifting.

In such a situation, arm muscles experience microtears or inflammation.

It is always better to start with minimum range exercises and slowly maximum training as per your body’s acceptance level.

Tried A different Tempo

An exercise has an eccentric portion of the lifts, and an eccentric portion is involved in muscle lengthening.

If one day you are lifting it to a certain level and then the next day to shift intensity levels, you are likely to experience stiff biceps.

These levels can be measured in terms of speed, reps, or even intensity.

You are doing too much

It is a common problem for gym freaks, and it impacts not only your arm muscles but other muscles as well.

Your progress is not determined by the hours you spend in a gym. Your body has a threshold of volume from which it can recover easily.

But, when you are having a bicep day, if you breach the upper threshold of volume or even get closer to the threshold, you will feel extreme soreness in your bicep muscles.

For more clarity, if you do one or two exercises for your bicep muscles in routine and you readily shift to three or four new exercises.

It will put an immense load on your muscles. As a reaction, T-Rex will result.

Ways To Manage T-Rex arms After A Workout

Post-workout T-Rex arms occur due to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). In some cases, you get tears in your muscle fiber that can cause an accumulation of lactic acid.

As a result, your muscle shows an inflammatory response. There can be several factors causing DOMS.

You can adapt the below-listed ways to manage T-Rex arms to a certain degree.

1. Low-Intensity Exercise

High-intensity exercises cause more sore muscles as compared to low-intensity exercises.

There is an increased blood movement to and from the muscles in low-intensity exercises. More blood means a greater amount of nutrients are coming towards your muscles.

Nutrients are involved in the repair and improvement of your muscles. If more nutrients reach your muscles, it will repair T-Rex arms more quickly than expected.

So, for weight lifters, it is recommended to focus on low-intensity exercises like bicep curls involving low weight for relaxed biceps.

2. Pain Relievers

Pain relievers like NSAIDs are the best anti-inflammatory medicine. But there is some contradiction that NSAIDs slow or inhibit your muscle growth.

Well, that’s not the case, a study reveals if an anti-inflammatory is taken within the prescribed dose, it has no negative impact.

But try to avoid medication as much as possible. Seek help from a healthcare professional before taking any medicine.

3. Quality Sleep

For muscle recovery, quality sleep is integral. Maximum muscle repair and growth occur while you are asleep. If you are sleeping 5 to 6 hours, you are likely to develop T-Rex arms after a workout.

Focus on getting high-quality night’s sleep for better recovery and muscle growth.

4. Stretching and Warm Up

To avoid T-Rex arms and muscle cramping, make sure you warm up your body or do low-intensity stretching exercises. It helps your muscles due to more blood flood.

5. Protein Consumption

Your muscle recovery is incomplete without sufficient protein intake. To avoid T-Rex arms post-workout, try consuming 1.5 grams of protein per pound of your body weight.

6. Massage Therapy

If you want a quicker way to get away from T-Rex arms, then massage therapy can be a good option for decreasing muscle stiffness.

Massaging your arms can improve blood flow and simultaneously reduce inflammation.

7. Hydration

For muscle recovery, hydration level is extremely critical. Keep yourself hydrated during and post-workout for quicker recovery of T-Rex arms.

How Long Does It Take To Recover From T-Rex arms After A Workout?

Don’t worry!!! T-Rex arms after a workout is not a permanent problem or deformity.

It is a condition that can get better within a day or two depending upon severity and some other factors.

Your diet, sleep, intensity of the workout, and how you treat your body after a workout plays a role in the recovery of T-Rec arms.

If you want quicker relief, allow your body to rest well after a workout, have a high-protein meal, drink enough water and do some stretches.

In case of muscle soreness is beyond your tolerance level, you can try some massage therapy.

Conclusion

T-Rex arms are nothing to get panic about. It is a normal condition that your bicep muscle undergoes due to heavy weight lifting or high-intensity workouts.

But it is a temporary condition which can avoid and prevent by following some tips.

But if you are already experiencing sore biceps, take a cold-water bath, as it will improve your blood and relax you.

Cardio can also relieve muscle stiffness. Instead of quickly switching towards medication, try giving your muscle time to rest and recover.