It’s the morning after you started your new workout program and you wake up feeling fantastic. Until you move. All of a sudden you’re aware of EVERY muscle in your body, plus a few you didn’t know you had.
I know we’re all familiar with that seemingly inevitable muscle soreness that comes with changing your workout routine. It usually presents itself 24 to 48 hours after you exercise, deviously drawing out the suspense of what you know lies ahead. This delayed onset is typical of this type of soreness, and the pain dissipates rather quickly after another one or two days.
The worst part about delayed-onset muscle soreness (often called “DOMS”) is that you never know how much pain you’ll be in, so it is difficult to gauge how much to push yourself in your first workout. Push too hard and you’re certain to regret it that next morning, especially if you’re new to exercise. Yet muscle soreness isn’t just for new exercisers. Experienced athletes fall victim to it every time they increase the frequency or intensity of their strength training, or when they add new exercises.
Treatment
Although prevention is really the best treatment (continue reading below), there are a few things you can do at home that will help alleviate muscle soreness. I would start with the RICE principle (rest, ice, compression, and elevation). Ice, in particular, has proven to be useful for some in dulling the pain. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (Ibuprofen and Aleve are good examples) can also help with pain and inflammation within the muscle fibers.
Most importantly, continue to move and exercise when you’re sore. You shouldn’t perform the same routine that caused soreness, but you should spend at least 20-30 minutes doing low-impact cardio such as walking or biking. This loosens up the muscles, gets blood and nutrients flowing more freely to the muscle fibers, and can minimize the level and/or duration of muscle soreness that you will experience. When you’re ready to try strength training again, make sure you’re thoroughly warmed-up beforehand. Try running through a couple exercises without weight before you add resistance back in.
Remember that muscle soreness is common and natural, but prolonged pain is NOT. If you continue to feel pain for more than a week, consult your physician.
Prevention
Because of the unpredictability of DOMS, it’s always a good idea to be cautious when beginning a new workout routine. Prevention is the best treatment. I recommend that my clients not complete the entire program the first day (and sometimes the whole first week or two).
Example: You’re starting a new workout program that requires 2-3 sets of exercises. The first day or two, you would only complete 1-2 sets of these exercises. You’ll get all the benefits of the workout without all the soreness. Of course, you’ll likely experience some muscle pain and stiffness regardless (sorry to break it to you!), but with this solution, at least you’re lessening that amount.
And if you haven’t exercised in over a year, play it extra safe and use lighter weights for everything those first two weeks until your body has gotten used to the exercises. A good rule of thumb is never increase the frequency or intensity of your workouts by more than 10% per week. This ensures a slow, steady exercise progression that won’t overstrain your muscles, risk injury, and cause unpleasant soreness.
Stretching after your workout can also play a big role in reducing next-day muscle soreness. Make sure you devote a few minutes at the end of your workout to stretches for each major muscle that you worked. Read more on stretching here.
Causes
Although there are several theories as to what actually causes DOMS, most agree it’s the result of tiny tears within the muscles. Research indicates that delayed muscle soreness is most closely associated with the negative phase of muscular effort.
To explain, think of a Bicep Curl: As you curl the weight up towards your shoulder, your bicep muscle is contracting and shortening (this is the positive phase). As you lower the weight back down to your side, your muscle is relaxing and lengthening (this is the negative phase). During this negative work, your bicep is still actively trying to contract against the weight so that your arm lowers slowly to your side (rather than just giving in to gravity and dropping your arm, which could cause injury). Thus your muscle is trying to hold a shortened state while you are forcing it to lengthen. This action is what can cause miniscule tears in the muscle fibers and surrounding connective tissues.
That’s not to say DOMS is a bad thing. As uncomfortable (and often painful) as it can be, those tears are a normal consequence of your body’s adaptation to the movements. After recovery, your muscles come back stronger and with more stamina than before.
It is also important to realize that soreness is NOT a reflection on the quality of your workout. I know a few people who inevitably scrap their workout program as soon as they stop feeling that soreness the next day. They are, literally, addicted to the pain. But the reality is that muscle soreness has a rapid adaptation response – meaning that your muscles will adapt very quickly to a given exercise intensity. You might experience soreness the first time you work out at a new intensity, but you won’t feel pain every time you exercise at that intensity. Actually, you shouldn’t feel that same level of soreness again until you progress to a higher intensity.
For strength gains, you should push yourself to complete as many repetitions of an exercise as you can in good form. Increase the weight and/or reps (only one at a time) by no more than 10% each week to minimize soreness and reduce your risk of injury. This strategy will ensure you get the most out of your workouts with as little pain as possible.
Remember that muscle soreness is natural for new strength training programs, but it isn’t necessary. Taking precautions to progress your workout gradually, to thoroughly warm-up before your workout, and to stretch afterwards are just a few of the ways you can minimize delayed-onset muscle soreness.
Do you have any prevention or treatment strategies of your own?
