DOMS A.K.A. DELAYED ONSET MUSCLE SORENESS has been coming up quite a bit lately so I'm taking the opportunity to shed some light and information on the topic
In terms of building muscle or muscular hypertrophy, we'll go over...
What it is.
Why do I feel it?
Is it a good/bad/neutral thing?
Should I be sore after my session?
When should I feel it?
So, what IS DOMS? DOMS is a phenomenon where muscle pain or stiffness develops 24-72hrs after training. It is a response to a stimulus being put on a muscle. When you train, the movements and exercises you go through apply stimulus for a muscle to break down, then recover and grow.
Training stimulus can be generally categorized as:
Not enough stimulus = Not enough to change/cause adaptation to muscles, energy systems, etc. over a period of time and no muscle soreness or not enough effort training sessions. Your performance is great but you feel that the workout was really easy.
Just enough stimulus = Usually a range from higher to lower sweet spots where training is enough to cause a change/adaptation to muscles, energy systems, etc over a period of time and little to no muscle soreness after training sessions. An ex. of this would be if you get sore but you're able to recover in time for the next workout and your performance is on point then you can add some work or stay the same until you get better at your current routine. You trained well and recovered in time to do it again or better. Too much stimulus = Too much stimulus or pushing too hard (causing too much muscle damage) when training can cause a lot of muscle soreness, some exhaustion, possibly pain, etc. When you cause too much damage your body has to recover from all of it BEFORE it can start building. An ex. would be if you are sore but your performance IS NOT dipping, hold off on any progression. If you experience soreness and it then inhibits your next performance negatively, you need to reduce your current workload before marching ahead! Don't dig a hole too deep to step out of! NOTE: You probably won't ever train ALL OUT 100%. If you're a trained individual out of 100 sessions maybe 1-2 and again, that's IF you're trained really well. This is mainly because it's so exhausting and demanding and difficult to recover from. Under recovery is often a more common cause of not being able to well, just that... not recover, experience soreness more often, etc.
Why do I feel sore?
The answer can depend on a couple of variables, but for the most part, people experience soreness when applying a new stimulus to the body (a new workout routine they're not used to), do too much during a session or a week of training, or they aren't recovering well enough to allow the muscles to get the repair they need from their previous sessions, further hindering growth.
Is it a good/bad/neutral thing?
Don't think of muscle soreness after sessions as a good or bad thing. Think of it as information based on what you did.
Feeling like you barely worked out?
Probably going to have to work a bit harder or with more intent.
Not feeling sore, but feel like you accomplished more than you could a month ago and had a great workout?
You're probably in that sweet spot. Pushing for some more volume and work is possible, but not aggressively.
Experiencing a lot of muscle soreness?
You probably pushed a bit too far and need to either dial your training back a bit, get more rest and recovery, or both.
Muscle damage might help cause growth, but it could have nothing to do with growth at all. We aren't entirely sure yet. We are sure that more muscular tension, volume, and training closer to failure, do cause muscular growth and all that comes with some muscle damage which may lead to some soreness.
To further explain why DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness isn't a good or bad thing at a manageable level (meaning you're not debilitated by it) when you begin training muscles, there is an increase in nerve impulses (information/messages sent by the nervous system to muscles) that cause the muscle to contract. Singularly, this often results in an increase in strength, but there isn't any noticeable change in muscle size due to how short term we're speaking here. Stimulation occurs when the muscles contract during exercising. Even when you focus on the eccentric portion of an exercise (usually the lowering of the weight) the muscle is being stimulated. These muscular contractions when training causes internal damage to the muscle fibers. The muscle fibers are broken down throughout a training session and then the fibers are available for repair. Repair is often occurring during the resting of the muscles (i.e. sleep).
So, as you can see... too sore is bad, but some may be ok as it tells you something or just a little too much is being done, BUT no soreness can also mean progress is being made and you're staying within reasonable training volumes, intensities, etc. for the individual.
Should I be sore after my session?
The answer is...
It depends! Yes, seems like a cop-out answer, but it goes deeper than just yes or no. Ex. If I'm training a client who has been progressing and is either in a higher-rep appropriate phase of training or mesocycle (month of training) then they may feel sore after doing higher reps (maybe 12-25 reps+). If someone tries a new workout routine and applies a new stimulus they may be sore. If someone focuses on Isometrics or eccentrics they may be sore. It depends on the situation and training style.
When should I feel it?
As stated above, in those situations you might feel soreness or DOMS, but don't aim for it.
Let's summarize everything you now know!
DOMS = Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
DOMS occurs 24-72hrs after training
DOMS is not good or bad, but information about previous workout sessions.
We aren't entirely sure how damage and growth interact yet.
If there's no hint of muscle damage, you should probably afford to do more for the best chances of growth.
If there's too much damage and it hurts your performance, you're very likely doing too much right now.
More muscular tension, volume, and training closer to failure do cause muscular growth, and all that comes with some muscle damage which may lead to some soreness.
You should manipulate your training/workload based on your performance and how you feel and your goals.
What does a Coach do in all this?
A Coach sees how you perform during a session and if you perform well to the listed routine without any soreness or very little, then there is room for more volume in your training to better promote more muscle growth (not bodybuilder type muscle growth, too. Everyone is different and it's easy for no one). We try to keep you in the sweet spot for optimal performance and optimal growth and progress.
I hope this provided a good bit of information for you on muscle damage, DOMS, and how to deal with it in regards to your training. Of course, if you have any questions or need guidance please feel free to message me on any social media or swing me an e-mail! I love being able to help anyone I can.
-Coach Tom
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