Starting a Workout Program Can Be Tough
Starting a Workout Program Can Be Tough
Be Prepared for DOMS: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Starting a workout program can be challenging. Making the time to exercise, creating a balanced routine, and setting goals are hard enough, but add to that the muscle soreness that comes with adapting to that regimen, and it may be difficult to stay on track.
After participating in some kind of strenuous physical activity, particularly something new to your body, it is common to experience muscle soreness, say experts. "Muscles go through quite a bit of physical stress when we exercise," says Rick Sharp, professor of exercise physiology at Iowa State University in Ames. "Mild soreness is just a natural outcome of any kind of physical activity,” he says, "and they're most prevalent in beginning stages of a program."
Exercise physiologists refer to the gradually increasing discomfort that occurs between 24 and 48 hours after activity as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and it is perfectly normal. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a common result of physical activity that stresses the muscle tissue beyond what it is accustomed to. To be more specific, delayed onset muscle soreness occurs when the muscle is performing an eccentric or a lengthening contraction. Examples of this would be running downhill or the lengthening portion of a bicep curl. The mild muscle strain injury creates microscopic damage to the muscle fibers. Scientists believe this damage, coupled with the inflammation that accompanies these tears, causes the pain. "The aches and pains should be minor," says Carol Torgan, an exercise physiologist and fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, "and are simply indications that muscles are adapting to your fitness regimen."
No one is immune to muscle soreness. Exercise newbies and body builders alike experience delayed onset muscle soreness.
Exercise physiologists and athletic trainers have not yet discovered a remedy for DOMS, however, several remedies such as ice, rest, anti-inflammatory medications, massage, heat, and stretching have been reported as helpful in the process of recovery. Stretching helps break the cycle, which goes from soreness to muscle spasm to contraction and tightness.
Probably the most important thing is to have a cool-down phase after your workout. This can involve finishing with a light jog or walk for 10 minutes or more followed by stretching.
Delayed onset muscle soreness usually affects only the body parts that were worked, so perhaps you can work other muscle groups while letting the fatigued ones recover. It's also a process of muscle conditioning. I usually stress this with my newer clients that the next time they do the activity, there will be less muscle tissue damage, less soreness, and a faster strength recovery.
Soreness can serve as encouragement in a workout program because people like immediate results. Muscle doesn't visibly [grow] overnight; nor does your time in the mile drop from eight to six minutes, but something like soreness can give people encouragement that they are in fact working the muscle.
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Kim Duke is a certified personal trainer and owner of Core Performance Fitness and Training, located at 55 Bristol Lane, Ellicottville, NY. Kim resides in Ellicottville where she raised her two sons, Zach and Nik. For more information about her studio visit her Facebook page or www.coreperformancefitness.com. Kim can be reached directly at 716-698-1198.
