Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) – That feeling of booboo in the mooosels (muscles) that you trained a few days before.
I was having a chat with one of our members who we have recently switched programming for strength gains in the big 3 lifts and the Military press.
He said that after the first week, he experienced soreness that had him a little concerned for the weeks to come.
An awesome topic to bring up as this is a very common occurrence with novice lifters AND experienced lifters who have recently switched up their programming.
Providing that the principles mentioned below are adhered to, DOMS ARE AWESOME!
They are an indicator that you have put your body through training, training it needs to learn from, training it needs to adapt to, and in your health and fitness goals- a representation of future progress.
Let me assure you, following the principles, the DOMS will pass, and will soon be replaced with greater strength in your program and questions to whether or not you trained enough further down the track in your program
DOMS are inflammation of the muscles worked to an exhausted state. Great for growth, and a helpful indicator in the short term of future progress. Now I will add in here that DOMS can be an indicator of future progress, but not THE indicator, and certainly not the only one.
A long term inflammatory response aka DOMS ALL the time, can actually slow, and in some instances reverse your progress, long-term DOMS is usually a result of under-recovery, inadequate nutrition, poor sleep, stress.
So the goal with DOMS in our opinion, is to manage them with the end outcome in mind – to train the following session STRONGER and FITTER than before.
AF tips:
- STRETCH POST-WORKOUT- still the #1 prescription for immediate recovery and long-term health. Lengthening muscle that has spent the last 45-60min shortening allows greater blood flow to the muscle. BLOOD FLOW is key here, as blood carries all the nutrients for recovery and takes away muscle waste created in workout.
- ADEQUATE PROTEIN- the building blocks for muscle and recovery- 2.2g per lean body mass recommended to ensure recovery from training. Use a variety of sources from fish to beans, powder to eggs and everything in between.
- MAGNESIUM- one of the most abundant minerals in the body, one of my most recommended supplements and is responsible for too many of the things to write about however in terms of muscle recovery as it aids to release muscle tension and facilitates nutrients into the muscle cell. TIP 3.1. Unless the mag that has ingredients with “chelate” as the main mag type, you will pee most of it out. So look for the CHELATE- trilogy supplements have my fave… gabamag.
- SLEEP- the production of growth hormone and testosterone, important ingredients to muscle recovery, is most abundant during sleep. Also sleep because it’s awesome.
