We are all familiar with the pain that we put ourselves through in the gym and the struggles of sitting down after leg day, but let’s dig deeper into this topic to gain a better understanding of why this happens.
DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is a very normal response from your body post-resistance training. DOMS can take place no matter how heavy you lift, although you may recognize that lifting heavier can result in greater pain later in the week. DOMS takes place within the first 12-24 hours after working out, and those who are frequent in their training pattern may seek to achieve DOMS, knowing their hard-earned efforts have been rewarded. Bearing in mind that if the achy pain is prolonged, then consulting a specialist is a must in case it is a disguised injury.
So, when performing an individual movement or a repetitive movement, the phase of the movement that is highly associated with DOMS is what we refer to as the “Eccentric Contraction”, which is where the muscle contracts at a lengthened phase (When the weight feels it’s heaviest). This is very common in hypertrophy training and high-intensity training. Although this is not the only reason why, if you are a new starter to the gym environment there is a high chance of DOMS created through exercises that the body is also not accustomed to.
What happens to the muscles that create this uncomfortable ache and stiffness you may ask?
Training at a high intensity in the overloading of the muscles, the muscle fibers that lay within the body part being worked are highly disrupted which in result is the strain of our type 1 muscle also known as the tearing of muscle fibers. An example of this would be when carrying out a weighted squat repetitively, the quadricep muscles will become under an increased amount of “metabolic stress” when performing the lowering phase of the squat (Time under tension). This is why it is vital to take your time to break yourself back into training after being away from it for so long or even if you are a new starter to the gym altogether.
Eccentric Contraction
Repetitive Movement (Run)
How do I know if I’m working hard enough or putting myself at risk of injury?
Understanding your body is such an important element when it comes to any type of training/exercise. Struggling to understand your own body can be difficult to overcome in a short period of time, which is why consulting with a professional in these specific areas is hugely beneficial, especially when it concerns the safety of your own body physically and mentally. There are various ways of keeping yourself safe if you are new to training which may be extremely helpful for you, here are some;
- Start with bodyweight exercises.
- Follow a structured progressive program recommended by a professional.
- Leave the heavy lifting until you’re more experienced.
- Focus on technique and form.
- Eat healthy foods regularly. “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind”.
- Manage Stress levels.
- Proper recovery time.
Is DOMS the reason that you are skipping the gym more often than not? If so, how do we prevent DOMS?
To start off with, let’s just acknowledge the fact that how much you ache does not equate to how well you have performed your workout in the gym. The prevention of DOMS all starts within your exercises, meaning that pushing your limits very early on is going to result in heavy DOMS, so take your time and build yourself up with a warm-up before hitting the weights. If you’re already past this point there are other ways of easing the pain rather than prevention. Some of these are:
- Stretching the affected muscles
- Ice baths for sped-up recovery
- Pain relievers
- Massages
- Foam Rolling.
Cossack Side Lunge Stretch
Hamstring PNF Stretch
