12 Oct DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Just when you think you are really in shape, change your work out. Last week I had the pleasure of taking a Barre3 class (Click here for find a class near you) and it literally kick my butt! Lots of body weight exercises using small movements and high repetition to really work all those muscles. Before I even got home, my legs were already feeling the intensity, so you can imagine how hard it was to get out of bed the next morning!! Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, often referred to as DOMS, happens when we’ve created small minute tears in the muscle, this causes muscle inflammation and thus pain for 24 to 48 hours after the work out. It is not due to lactic acid building up in the muscle, which was a common misconception until very recently.
The best course of action I have found is to take it easy, take a few aleve or any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, drink lots of water, static stretching and utilize a foam roller or schedule a sports massage to help ease the discomfort. If you have never used a foam roller (which is like a self-massage), click here for a great infographic. Since your muscle tissue needs to rebuild itself, this is the time to make sure you are consuming enough protein to get the job done. There is some evidence that BCAA supplementation can reduce the soreness (not alleviate it) associated with DOMS.
There’s no evidence that suggests the presence of DOMS increases your overall strength, so not experiencing the soreness doesn’t mean you didn’t get a good workout in. Likewise, just because you are sore doesn’t mean you got a good workout in. Also, it’s important to distinguish post-workout soreness from injury. Listen to your body.
I personally do not have an appreciation for DOMS, as it prevents me from my normal workout for a few days. I usually experience in mostly after I switch up and try a new class or workout. I end up working muscles I may not workout enough, and I usually work out harder than I normally would.
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