Sore legs after jump drills, sore arms after a long stunt practice, a sore core after conditioning: most cheerleaders know the feeling. Some soreness is a normal response to hard or new training. This guide explains why it happens, what the research says actually helps, and the signs that pain is something more than ordinary soreness.

This is general information, not medical advice. If you think you are injured, see a doctor, athletic trainer or other qualified health professional.

Why Cheer Practice Makes You Sore

The soreness that shows up after practice, rather than during it, is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). A review in Sports Medicine (Cheung and colleagues, 2003) found that:

• DOMS is most common at the start of a season, when athletes return to training after time off.
• It is also common when athletes start a new type of activity, at any time of year.
• Eccentric work, where a muscle is working while it lengthens, causes more of it. In cheer, that includes landing jumps and tumbling, lowering into squats, and catching and cradling.
• Soreness can temporarily reduce range of motion and strength. Athletes who change how they move because they are sore may put extra stress on other tissues.

That last point matters for cheer. Very sore legs can change how you land, and very sore arms can change how you catch. Tell your coach if you are so sore that you can’t move normally.

Prevent the Worst of It

• Build up gradually. Since DOMS peaks when training is new or after a break, the start of the season, the first days of camp, and the first week of a new conditioning plan are when to ease in. The AAP’s strength-training guidance, for example, suggests adding resistance by no more than 10% a week.
• Warm up and cool down. MedlinePlus lists warming up before exercise and cooling down afterward among the ways to lower the risk of muscle aches. Use our warm-up routine before every practice.
• Drink fluids. MedlinePlus also recommends drinking fluids before, during and after exercise.
• Eat enough. A joint position statement from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada says well-chosen nutrition improves both performance and recovery. Regular meals and snacks around practice help. For a personal plan, the statement recommends a registered dietitian.

What Helps After Practice

A 2018 meta-analysis of 99 studies (Dupuy and colleagues, Frontiers in Physiology) compared recovery methods. These reduced soreness, from a small to a large amount:

• Massage: the most effective method for reducing both soreness and feelings of fatigue.
• Active recovery: light, easy movement such as walking, easy cycling or swimming.
• Compression garments.
• Cold water immersion, contrast water therapy and cryotherapy.

A separate 2019 meta-analysis on foam rolling (Wiewelhove and colleagues) found that rolling after exercise slightly reduced how much muscle pain athletes felt, though its overall effects on recovery were small. Foam rolling is a simple, cheap way to get some of the benefit of massage. Roll gently, and avoid rolling directly over joints or anything that feels injured.

What Doesn’t Help Much

The Cheung review found that stretching did not relieve DOMS. Gentle stretching still has a place in your cool-down for flexibility, but don’t expect it to cure soreness, and don’t force deep stretches on very sore muscles. See our stretching guide for when and how to stretch.

The same review found that exercise was the most effective way to ease soreness, but the relief is temporary. Its advice for athletes who train daily is to reduce the intensity and length of training for one to two days after a session that causes heavy soreness. Talk to your coach about lighter days after hard ones.

Sleep

The CDC recommends 8 to 10 hours of sleep per 24 hours for teens, and 7 or more hours for adults. Early-morning practices plus school and homework make that hard, so protect your bedtime on heavy training weeks.

Soreness or Injury?

Training soreness usually feels like a dull, general ache in the muscles you worked, and it eases as you move and over the next few days. An injury is more likely if the pain is sharp, in one specific spot, in a joint, or started suddenly during a skill.

MedlinePlus advises calling a health care provider if muscle pain lasts more than 3 days, or if you see signs of infection such as redness or swelling around a tender muscle. See a doctor or athletic trainer for:

• Pain that started with a fall, pop, twist or bad landing.
• Pain that stops you putting weight on a leg or using an arm.
• Swelling, bruising or a joint that feels unstable.
• Pain that keeps getting worse instead of better.

Dark, red or cola-colored urine after very hard exercise, especially with severe muscle pain or weakness, can be a sign of rhabdomyolysis, a serious condition in which damaged muscle affects the kidneys. MedlinePlus lists it as a symptom. Get medical care right away.

Our guide to common cheerleading injuries covers the injuries cheer athletes see most often and when to get help.

For more on managing a long season, see our self-care tips and our guide to keeping your energy up.

Sources: Cheung, Hume and Maxwell, Delayed onset muscle soreness: treatment strategies and performance factors, Sports Medicine 2003; Dupuy et al., post-exercise recovery techniques meta-analysis, Frontiers in Physiology 2018; Wiewelhove et al., foam rolling meta-analysis, Frontiers in Physiology 2019; MedlinePlus, Muscle aches and Rhabdomyolysis; ACSM, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada, Nutrition and Athletic Performance; American Academy of Pediatrics, Strength training (HealthyChildren.org); CDC, About sleep. Last checked October 1, 2026.