DOMS

DOMS

So you did 300 air squats and now you cannot go down a set of stairs or get up off the toilet.  That's DOMS.  DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is that awful feeling you get a day or two after a hard workout where it hurts to stretch your muscles.  

Researchers believe that the feeling is caused by the many micro trauma that occur in the muscle fibers during the eccentric portion of weight lifting and/or exercise. 

Contrary to bro-science and popular belief, it’s not true that the more sore a workout makes you, the better it was.  In fact,  if you’re so sore that you decide not to train, you really have done yourself a disservice.  Exercise should be dosed such that it does cause muscular damage, but not so much that it cannot be recovered from. 

Since the main cause of DOMS is the eccentric (lowering) portion of lifting weights, try to limit your exposure to that style of training in high volumes. 

Many people report that stretching and self massage like foam rolling decreases their DOMS symptoms.  The research doesn’t support these claims, but as we always say, if makes you feel better and you have the time for, go for it!