Why You're Sore All the Time (And What to Actually Do About It)

A friend's Marco Polo message sparked this whole episode — "Amy, I'm sore all the time and I don't understand why." Sound familiar? Today we're diving into what chronic soreness actually means, why it's not a sign you're doing something wrong, and the simple levers you can start pulling right now to feel better between your workouts.

In this episode we chat about:

• What DOMS is and why some soreness is completely normal (and expected)
• The difference between typical post-workout soreness and the chronic kind your body is flagging
• 7 super simple tips to help you feel better
• The bigger-picture stuff (like how perimenopause/menopause genuinely changes your recovery timeline)
• Why the goal isn't to overhaul everything — just to start somewhere

Reminder: We're talking about muscle soreness today, not sharp pain, joint pain, or anything that feels like injury. If that's you — please go see someone for help.

Episodes Discussed

Sleep: Simple ways to increase your sleep quality 😴 and quantity 🛌 with holistic sleep coach Morgan Adams

Sleep: 3am Insomnia: When Hormones Hijack Your Sleep in Midlife with Kathleen Saucier

Magnesium: Muscle cramps, fatigue, headaches and stressed? This natural mineral may help.

Rest and Recovery: "No days off" no more! Why recovery days are imperative.

Active Recovery: From RICE to PEACE & LOVE: Your Fastest Path to Recovery

Lifting Heavy: How to Lift Heavier Without Heavier Weights

My latest recommended ways to nourish and move your body, mind and spirit: Nourished Notes Bi-Weekly Newsletter

30+ Non-Gym Ways to Improve Your Health (free download)

Connect with Amy:
GracedHealth.com
Instagram: @GracedHealth
YouTube: @AmyConnell

Transcript

Why You're Sore All the Time (And What to Actually Do About It)

Graced Health Podcast

Amy Connell, Host

I have this friend who has found her fitness groove — for lack of a better word — over the last year and a half or so. She's one of those friends I Marco Polo with, and I would see her in her car saying, "Hey, I'm on my way to the gym," and she would Marco Polo back, "Well, I'm done with the gym." We would have walk-and-talks, because you all know that I love doing walk-and-talks, and I was just sitting here from afar witnessing her consistency, her showing up, her working hard. Sometimes it was a strength-heavy day, sometimes it was more of a metabolic day, and I was just honoring and being so proud of all that she had been doing.

Several months ago, she Marco Polo'd me and said, "Hey Amy, I am sore all the time and I don't really understand this. I feel like I've gotten in shape — it's not a matter of just getting my muscles under me and still growing them. It's like I'm just sore all the time. Is there anything I can do?"

Today we are going to talk about that. So welcome to the Graced Health Podcast, and we are going to discuss what it means if you are sore all the time — and what you can do about it.

Soreness is not a sign that you are doing something wrong, but constant soreness is your body trying to tell you something. Today we're going to try to figure out what that is. I'm going to give you some very simple, realistic levers that you can pull. As with everything I say, there's no magic wand, no magic pill or supplement that will make it all go away. But there are different levers you can consider trying so you can actually feel good in your body between your workouts — not just during them.

What's Actually Happening

Let's talk about what's actually happening. When you have a strength workout — let's say for simplicity that you do a bunch of squats — and then the next day your glutes, upper hamstrings, and maybe even your quads are sore, that is what's called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS. That is normal. It's the result of the tiny micro-tears that happen in the muscle fibers when you challenge your body. When you're lifting heavy or doing a lot of repetitions, those micro-tears occur — and the repair is what actually makes you stronger.

This typically peaks between 24 and 48 hours after your workout and generally resolves by about 72 hours. Of course, sometimes it lasts longer. I'm thinking about the time I ran a half marathon — I ran it a lot faster than I meant to, and then I didn't employ any of the recovery techniques we're going to talk about today. It was a week before I could walk down the stairs normally. A little too much. Don't recommend it. I wish I had done some of these things.

So: some soreness, some of the time, is good. It's expected, it's totally normal. But if you're sore most of the time, that's a different conversation — and that's what we're really talking about today.

Chronic soreness usually means one thing: you're not recovering as fast as you're breaking down. You're working out, working out — micro-tear, micro-tear — and your recovery is not keeping up with the muscle breakdown. The problem is not the workout. It's what's happening (or not happening) around it.

Also, a quick clarification: we are talking about muscle soreness today — not sharp pain, not joint pain, not anything that feels like injury, not anything shooting during the workout. Those are problems. Please go see someone: a physical therapist, an exercise therapist, a physician — someone who can help with that specific issue. We're just talking about that chronic "I'm so sore and it won't go away" feeling.

The Levers

When that happens, there are several things that directly affect how well and how fast your body recovers. Most of us are probably dealing with at least two or three of these at any given time. I like to frame these as a menu — pick and choose what you think will work for you, what sounds good, what you're not already doing.

Also, heads up: as I put this together, I realized we've talked about several of these in specific episodes, so I'll have a lot of links in the show notes. If you're watching on YouTube, you'll see those pop up as I mention them.

Lever #1: Sleep

This is going to be the biggest one. Deep sleep in particular is when muscle repair actually happens — when growth hormone is released, tissue rebuilds, and the nervous system resets. If you are skimping on sleep and wondering why you're always sore, this is likely your answer.

I know sleep is hard in this season. I went to bed last night and fell asleep at 9:47 p.m. — and was wide awake at 11:10 p.m. Why? I don't know. But we can have a bad night's sleep despite our best intentions.

If you struggle with sleep, I have two episodes for you. One just came out — Season 25, Episode 8 on CBT-i with Kathleen Saucier, released April 21, 2026. The other is from Sleep Coach Morgan Adams in Season 15, Episode 1: "Simple Ways to Increase Your Sleep Quality and Quantity." Both are really helpful, they align well with each other, and they have different focuses. Go listen to those.

Perimenopause and menopause make sleep harder — disrupted sleep is very real. But that's just an invitation to start prioritizing it. If sleep is the root issue, that's where to start pulling levers.

Lever #2: Protein Intake

I know. Protein is a full-time job right now. I'm not asking you to go overboard. I did a whole four-part series on protein, and in the coming weeks I'll be releasing a "Common Sense Approach to Protein" episode that pulls all four together and simplifies it.

Why does protein matter here? Those micro-tears we talked about? Protein is what repairs them. And based on current research, most women in this season are underconsuming protein — not because they're not trying, but because it's genuinely hard, and because the recommended daily allowance (about 60 grams for women) is really a minimum, not a thriving amount.

My general recommendation: aim for about 25 to 30 grams of protein per meal, three meals a day. If you can get a little extra in when you snack, great. Thirty grams times three meals gets you to 90 grams — some people will say that's not enough, but it's better than 60. On a great day, I get around 110 grams. I don't have great days every day. Aim for consistency over perfection.

For the full protein series, check out Season 22, Episodes 1 through 4.

Lever #3: Hydration

Are you drinking enough water? Dehydration increases perceived soreness and slows the process of clearing metabolic waste from muscle tissue. You've got all those micro-tears creating byproducts in the muscle — water helps flush them out.

A simple cue: look at your urine. Lemonade color or lighter? You're probably in the clear. The darker it is, the more fluids you need.

And remember — your fluid needs change significantly with heat, humidity, and sweat output. I learned this the hard way on a trip abroad when I had a bad stomach bug. The next day I was drinking liquid IVs, LMNT, water, Gatorade — everything. And at 3:00 p.m. I realized I hadn't used the restroom since 10:00 a.m. Even after all that intake, I was still severely dehydrated because my output had been so high. Don't assume "I've had a lot to drink" means you're covered. Check the color.

Lever #4: Magnesium

Magnesium is involved in hundreds of processes in the body, including muscle relaxation and recovery. Good food sources include leafy green vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, seafood, and meats like chicken and beef. It's fairly easy to become deficient if you're not eating a lot of those regularly.

One common recommendation is to take a magnesium glycinate supplement before bedtime. If you're open to supplements, it's worth talking with your doctor about it — and remember, it's not a magic pill, but it might be a missing piece.

For more on magnesium, check out Season 15, Episode 2 with Natalie Gerardo: "Muscle Cramps, Fatigue, Headaches, and Stress: This Natural Mineral May Help."

Lever #5: Training Frequency and Muscle Groups

How often are you exercising, and are you hitting the same muscle groups too frequently? You want at least 48 hours between strength sessions targeting the same muscle groups.

This doesn't mean you can't do upper body Monday and lower body Tuesday — that's fine because you're still giving upper body 48 hours before you hit it again. But if you're strength training every single day using the same muscles, that could absolutely be causing your chronic soreness.

Personally, I strength train about twice a week and do all movements in one session because I want to get in and get out. Your muscles need time to repair before you load them again — but this doesn't mean you can't move. It just means don't load those same muscles with heavy resistance two days in a row.

For more on rest and recovery, listen to Season 15, Episode 14 with physical therapist Ted Carbo: "No Days Off No More: Why Recovery Days Are Imperative."

Lever #6: Inflammatory Foods

This isn't diet culture — but different foods do affect our bodies in different ways, and some foods are more inflammatory. Things like sugar, alcohol, and for some people, dairy or gluten, can impact recovery. Ultra-processed foods are another one.

Pay attention to what you're eating. It might be that you need more foods in their whole, God-given form — fruits, vegetables, fatty fish, nuts, seeds, olive oil. Those are anti-inflammatory foods that support recovery.

Alcohol is worth naming specifically here, because it's not only inflammatory — it also disrupts sleep. So you can get a real one-two punch if you're consuming a lot of it.

Lever #7: Gentle Movement

Believe it or not, movement itself can help with recovery. The instinct when you're sore — I know this well from my half-marathon experience — is to do nothing, to protect the muscles. But gentle movement like light walking, stretching, mobility work, and foam rolling all increase blood flow and help clear out what's staying stuck in the muscle tissue and giving you that achy feeling.

This is exactly what active recovery workouts are designed for. They're not just another workout — they help your body recover from the previous one so you can have a better one next. You want to do enough to support recovery, but not so much that you add to the load.

The Bigger Picture

Those are the individual levers, but let's zoom out — because sometimes chronic soreness is pointing to something bigger.

Your stress load. Your body does not distinguish between workout stress and life stress. Cortisol is cortisol. If you're navigating a hard season — extra caregiving, a loss, work pressure, relational strain, disrupted sleep night after night — your recovery capacity is genuinely reduced. Don't discount that.

I've been in that season myself with losing my dad, and I've told my friends: I've just had a hard time getting my feet under me in a lot of different ways. Some of that is my body under stress — and I've had to make real adjustments to how I move. My therapist reminded me that this is not a reason to stop working out, but it is a reason to dial back intensity for a season, let your body catch up, and then see where you are.

If you are under chronic stress, it's not an excuse to stop moving — but it might be an invitation to do less, not more.

Progressing too fast. Progressive overload — gradually increasing weight or reps — is good. But too much too fast is a common culprit for chronic soreness. The general guideline is not to increase more than 10% at a time. If you're lifting 20-pound dumbbells, you don't really want to jump to more than 22 pounds. That can be tricky with standard dumbbell increments (20 to 25 is a real jump), so make sure you feel truly confident and ready before moving up.

Perimenopause and menopause. Recovery genuinely takes longer in this season. Estrogen has a protective, anti-inflammatory role in the body — so as it fluctuates and declines, recovery slows. This is not an excuse to do less. It's just important to recognize and respond to. You may not have the same workout rhythm you did ten years ago. That's okay. What matters is that you're challenging yourself in the body you're in now. That is not failure. That is wisdom.

Wrapping Up

I want to be clear: this is not a list of things you're doing wrong. This is an opportunity to listen to what your body is communicating. Soreness is one of the ways it communicates with us. When it becomes constant, it's asking for more support — not more work.

I'm curious: is there one thing on this list — either in the specific levers or the bigger picture — that you're thinking might be your issue? If you're watching on YouTube, comment below. If you're listening in your podcast player, go to the show notes and hit "Click to Text" and tell me what you think might be missing. You have no idea what a gift it is when I hear from you. You're not bothering me — so please do it.

And then ask yourself: what is one thing you can change?

Maybe it's getting more protein at breakfast. Maybe it's making a few tweaks for better sleep. Maybe it's adding a short walk on your rest day instead of the couch. You know your body. You know what you need. You don't have to overhaul everything. You just have to start somewhere.

Take care of yourself between the workouts. That is where the progress happens. That is where your strength comes in.

Okay — that is all for today. Go out there and have a graced day.