Everyone has experienced that horrific feeling
Where you have to go down the stairs backwards
Or worse bump down on your ass
When you have to bend over in the shower because
you can’t lift your arms to put shampoo in
Putting your socks on becomes a huge ordeal
Or you’re walking like you just spent a night inside
one of America’s Toughest Prisons
^^^^you get it right?
So what the hell is that?
That my friends is called DOMS
Delayed Onset Muscle Fatigue
It’s basically just exercise related muscle pain
It’s caused by little muscle tears & strains that cause
inflammation in your body
Normally it comes 24 to 48 hours after the workout &
is caused by doing something you’ve never done or
haven’t done in a very long time
Or doing way more reps on an exercise than you’ve
ever done, going from 50 to 150
IS DOMS GOOD?
The fitness industry is plagued by people promoting
things like
“No Pain No Gain”
OR
“Feel sore tomorrow or feel sorry tomorrow”
This is a horrific attitude that is being promoted by
coaches who have absolutely no idea what they’re
doing
Also partly because of shows like The Biggest Loser
where people are pushed to insane limits making
people think that that is what is necessary to get
results
That’s a whole other blog, don’t get me started
DOMS is both good and bad…..let me explain
GOOD
If you’re just starting out or haven’t exercised in years
then you’re going to be sore, the level of soreness will
depend on how much you do
Hint: If you can’t walk for days you did too much, be
smart and air on the side of caution
Or maybe you’re more experienced & you just change up
your program or try some new exercises, then you’ll be
sore
BAD
The biggest problem with DOMS is that people try to chase
it every single workout
THIS IS A MISTAKE
You should not be chasing pain, you should be chasing
progress
Having goals/markers of health, strength, mobility & fitness
and then trying to improve them should be everyone’s goal
Things like
- how strong you are at different movements
- how fit you are at certain workouts
- are you getting closer to your goals? (fat loss, muscle building, fitness, health)
- are you moving better?
- are you moving pain free?
Do not chase pain
SIDE NOTE
I will say that I think if you are never experiencing this pain
then you’re probably stuck in your comfort zone
Or you’ve been doing the same program for a long time
It should happen from time to time in my opinion
I’M SORE RIGHT NOW, WHAT CAN I DO?
There are a bunch of things you can try, not all of
them will work for you but some will
1. Epsom Salt Bath
You can get Epsom Salts in your local chemist, put a
couple of scoops into a hot bath, put on some
Marvin Gaye and away ya go
There is strangely little research on Epsom Salts, but they
are still recommended by doctors & coaches worldwide
because of general feedback on them working
2. Light Movement
Get some sort of movement in to get some blood flowing, I
don’t mean do a workout because that will likely make you
worse. Get a walk/light cycle/swim in and then do some light
movements like leg swings & arm swings.
Sitting still will make it worse
Stretching also tends to make it worse for a lot of people so
probably leave that out
3. Massage
The level of pressure on the massage will depend on your
situation, but some people find jumping on the foam roller
helps ease the pain
Or at the very least distract them from it. Deep tissue massage
is likely not a good idea as there is still too much damage/pain
from the workout. Foam rolling is not deep tissue massage, it’s a bit lighter.
4. Get Back In There
2-3 days later you want to get back in and workout again
Hopefully you’ve learned that you did too much last time
& can dial it back in your next session
If you’re in a class and the coach doesn’t scale stuff back
for you then you need to take it upon yourself to do that.
FINAL NOTE & WARNING
If you experience strong pain during the workout then
you should stop immediately
Also there is a condition called Rhabdomyolysis that you
should be aware of. It’s basically DOMS gone over board
and is not god
If you the days after you feel sore but also feel weak, nausea,
your urine goes dark or you have decreased urine production,
palpitations & a bunch of other symptoms
If this happens then go to a doctor, don’t fuck around with
that one because it can damage your kidneys
Thanks for reading 🙂