Muscle Soreness, DOMS

by Kris Pitcher

Did I forget to mention this was going to hurt a little bit? Now that we're back in the swing of things I can see by the way you are waddling down the hall and holding the handrail as you navigate the stairs that you are experiencing something...wonderful!

Delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, is exactly what it sounds like. The first two days following your workout you feel localized pain, soreness, and/or stiffness in the muscle group/s you worked.

Some of us LIVE for this feeling. While others could just as well live without ever feeling this sensation again. Ever! You can have it either way. And you don't have to experience such tremendous DOMS that you can't get up or down from the toilet to indicate you've had a "good" workout.

We typically experience DOMS when we are new or returning to exercise, when we change what we're doing, increase the duration, or the intensity of our exercise. DOMS is caused by micro tears, or trauma, during the eccentric portion of a movement.

The eccentric contraction is a forceful contraction while the muscle is lengthening. For instance, in a dumbbell curl as you curl your biceps bringing the dumbbell up this is the concentric contraction, and as you lower the weight back down this is the eccentric contraction. The muscle is lengthening during the eccentric portion.

The way to prevent DOMS is to work a program which is slow in progression, and one that works in the 10-12 repetition range. Knowing whether you are motivated by the feeling of DOMS, or not, is important for you - and your trainer - and your program should be built around that.

We can do some things to reduce the soreness. We can employ RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation), we can use gentle stretching, active recovery massage, and foam rolling. I love foam rolling for this.

The important thing is to understand you don't have to feel DOMS in order to have had a good workout. If you don't like that feeling, there is nothing wrong with you. There's also nothing wrong with you if you love not being able to walk down the stairs two days after leg day. You're OK.

You might remember "super slow" sets. This has sort of gone out of fashion because people really couldn't stand the intense DOMS created by the slow eccentric movements involved. But if you love DOMS, this is one way to make sure you experience it.

There you have it. That's why you're in pain. Stick with it though because your muscles will become accustomed to the input, the soreness will reduce and then it will be time to change things up! Happy lifting!