Today’s Topic Highlights:
Muscle soreness is primarily caused by microscopic tears in muscle fibers that occur during intense or unfamiliar physical activity.
Soreness which lasts for longer than 48 hours typically results from one of two causes: (1) The exercise was too intense for you current ability level; or (2) the muscles have not been worked in that particular manner recently.
A consistent lack of any soreness after your workout routines may indicate that you are not sufficiently challenging your body.
There is a healthy balance to strike in the Goldilocks principle between the two extremes of zero soreness and debilitating soreness.
The worst thing you can do while sore (especially in the legs) is to sit. This will almost guarantee an intensifying of the soreness already present. The most ideal approach to soreness is to stay mildly active and moving while sore.
For those who exercise regularly, dealing with muscle soreness is simply a part of life. It comes with the territory of working out. However, muscle soreness can be a rather unsettling experience for someone not accustomed to it. Understanding what soreness is and how to manage it is helpful in effectively navigating the domain of strength training.
Muscle soreness is primarily caused by microscopic tears in muscle fibers that occur during intense or unfamiliar physical activity. These microtears trigger an inflammatory response in the muscle tissue, which in turn produces the sensation of soreness. It is a temporary phenomenon that, although unpleasant to experience, can be forecasted and kept to a minimum through appropriate courses of action.
Soreness which takes a day to fully manifest and lasts longer than 48 hours is known as DOMS. DOMS stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Sometimes you will feel minimal soreness the day after a workout, only to feel walloped on the second or third day. This is normal and by no mens the end of the world if you experience it for the first time. DOMS typically results from one of two causes:
The exercise was too intense for your current ability level. If this is the case, you simply need to scale back the intensity next time. This means either using lighter weights or performing fewer repetitions of the exercise(s) that induced the muscle soreness.
The muscles have not been worked in that particular manner recently. If this is the case, then the next time you perform the same exercise you will likely experience less soreness. The body just needs to be acclimated to that particular movement. Similar to public speaking, continued exposures eventually reduce the discomfort of the experience. (Public speaking discomfort is obviously mental while exercise is physical, but the effect of repeated exposures is basically the same and necessary for improvement in both domains.)
Conversely, a consistent lack of any soreness after your workout routines may indicate that you are not sufficiently challenging your body. Soreness is by no means mandatory for proving a workout’s effectiveness; nor should it be viewed as a badge of honor (as is the case with many CrossFit enthusiasts). There is a healthy balance to strike between the two extremes of zero soreness and debilitating soreness.
Below are 4 tips for dealing with soreness in the days following a workout. You can apply some of these tips to mild injuries as well, as both involve tissue inflammation.