| If you’ve lifted weights or done resistance training, you’ve likely felt that burn that comes with working hard. It usually fades moments after you stop the exercise. However, sometimes when you work out a new muscle, or after you’ve been out of the gym for a while, you’ll get sore days after your workout.
This is called delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS.
DOMS happens when your muscle fibers lengthen during an eccentric movement. Examples of eccentric moves include lowering into a squat, running downhill, or lowering a bicep curl.
It turns out there’s actually a lot of debate about why we get sore, and nobody seems to have a definitive answer. However, we can be sure about a few things.
Eccentric movement cause micro-tears in your muscles, and that’s okay! Your body knows how to repair the tears, and the repairs make the muscles stronger. However, the repair process causes inflammation, which can cause soreness. Although it may be uncomfortable, this inflammation is a vital part of the recovery process.
How can you relieve soreness?
Even though we don’t know exactly what causes it, there are things we can do to help relieve muscle soreness.
Foam rolling or a massage can help reduce discomfort for a while because it can improve blood flow, reduce inflammation, and desensitize pain receptors.
Sleep and hydration are also great tools. Water for your body is like oil for a car, it makes everything run smoothly, including muscle repair. Your body does a lot of heavy lifting in the repair process during sleep.
Gentle movement like a walk, yoga, or swimming can help increase circulation and help speed up recovery.
Contrary to popular belief, stretching doesn’t prevent soreness. It can, however, help with flexibility, range of motion, or stress.
Does DOMS mean I got a good workout?
Not necessarily. Muscle soreness is like an indication of acceleration. If you accelerate your lifting or training too fast, you’re likely to get sore, but your muscles can get stronger without being sore. That being said, DOMS is pretty normal and isn’t cause for concern. However, if you feel pain or discomfort during or immediately following a workout, that is likely sign of injury.
If you want to be sure you are building your muscles at an appropriate pace, talk to one of our exercise specialists about your program. |
