A good kinda sore

I woke up this morning and the first thing that hit my nervous system was the pain in almost every muscle in my body. My calves ached, my bum, chest, back, triceps, forearms AND abs were debilitating. All from what you ask? Well, working out of course! This is a week’s worth of muscle tearing and boy does it hurt! But as much as I complain about the pain, it is the best kind of sore you will ever feel.

The delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) brings a strange feeling of pride and accomplishment because you know that you have worked those muscles to extreme exhaustion and with a little rest they will be bigger, stronger and better then ever, ready to take on the next week of curling, pressing, lifting and jumping.

So what exactly is the science behind delayed onset muscle soreness and how on earth can this pain be beneficial? DOMS is the stiffness or soreness that occurs about a day or two after a new exercise program is introduced, you change your routine or dramatically increase the duration or intensity of your exercise routine.

Muscle Cell

This horrid feeling in your muscles is a usual part of an adaption process which leads to improved strength and stamina as your muscles recover and build hypertrophy (growth and increase in the size of the muscle cells).

It is important to note that DOMS is not the same kind of pain or fatigue you feel when you are working out, nor is it like the acute, sudden and sharp pain of an injury.

Lets get down to the sciencey part of this phenomenon: DOMS is the result of microscopic tearing of the muscle fibres which depends on how hard and how long you exercise for and what type of exercise you do. Eccentric muscle contractions (eg. running downhill, lowering weights, the downward motion of squats and push ups) tend to cause the most soreness.

How do you relieve all this pain? Honestly, there is no proven cure for this post workout agony, but there are a couple of things that you can try to see if it works for you:

• Foam Rolling: I have tried this week and for me it is the best. It relieves any tension in your muscles and lactic acid build up that you might have. You can do this before or after your workout, or even both!

 

Some Foam Rolling exercises

• Active recovery: Taking part in low impact, easy cardiovascular exercise increases blood flow and has been linked to reducing muscle soreness. My favourite active recovery exercises are swimming and spinning.
• Gentle Stretching (static stretching):  this relieves the muscle but has not been proven to work alone.

So now that you have had a taste of how it feels to be a victim of Delayed onset muscle soreness, let me give you some tips on trying to prevent it:

• Progress slowly: If you are new to a certain sport or exercise, start light and with a low intensity. This will give your muscles a chance to adapt slowly and you can then increase your intensity and weight as you become stronger.
• Warm up: make sure your muscles are warm before your routine. Try some light cardiovascular exercise and/or some dynamic stretching.
• Cool down with some gentle stretching or foam rolling.

If you are just starting out in the gym or on the field, track or road, and you wake up the next morning feeling all sorts of sore, don’t let it bring you down. This is the positive effect of training and conditioning your muscles. Over time they will get used to the exercise you’re doing and it wont hurt anymore. That’s when you know you have to change up your routine 😉 Muscles adapt to exercise, so you need to adapt your training program as they get stronger.

Don’t forget to take a rest day, weather it be active or passive. You can read about the importance of rest in one of my previous posts: https://liveloveliftmitchem.wordpress.com/2014/02/01/confessions-of-a-gymaholic-is-there-such-a-thing-as-too-much/

So fellow fitness junkies, how do you feel when your muscles give you grief from your workouts, and what action do you take, if any, when you’re limping around?