You know that muscle soreness you feel for a couple days after your workout? That’s called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
Why Does Muscle Soreness Happen?
Delayed onset muscle soreness is a natural effect after a workout and is nothing to be worried about. It often happens when you:
- Start a new fitness routine
- Switch programs, fitness routines, or sports (ex. a cyclist going for a run)
- When you modify the volume (reps, sets, weights), rest intervals, and tempo.
Is Muscle Soreness an Indicator of a Good Workout?
DOMS is not a good measure for a successful workout. This is primarily because you will start to notice DOMS less and less as you adapt to your fitness routine. You will also feel DOMS more or less based on:
- Genetics
- Certain body parts will get DOMS more than others
- Certain types of exercises will elicit different effects
The Bottom Line:
DOMS is common and nothing to be fearful of. Muscle soreness does not equal injury. It’s also not something to strive for in order to consider your workout a “good one”. Constantly striving to feel muscle soreness after a workout is a less efficient way to train and can have a negative impact on your relationship with exercise.
If you’re feeling DOMS after a workout, here are a couple courses to take:
- Take an extra rest day or two
- Mix in an active recovery week every 6-8 weeks
- Smart programming to ramp up your volume and intensity safely
- Ensure you’re consuming adequate protein each day
- Do some light movement to help promote recovery (ex. if your legs are still sore from a leg workout, do some light biking to get more blood flow into those muscles)
If you have any questions or need any support with your programming, please book a ‘No Sweat’ Intro with our team. We would love to meet you!
