Post by Andy on Jan 25, 2009 20:02:32 GMT
A few weeks back I had serious DOMS from a squat session i did. Once these had subsided I decided to do another squat session and bugger me backwards I got them again.
A few of the Crossfit Reading members have suffered from DOMS whether they knew it or not so I thought I would epxlain a bit about what they are, how to try and prevent them and how to treat them if you happen to get the dreaded DOMS.
Contrary to believe DOMS is not a good thing to get. The number of people I see at gyms who go out of their way to work themselves so hard that they can hardly breath let alone walk is unbelievable. Getting DOMS doesn't always mean you have worked yourself properly. It means you have put the body through a certain overload that the body is not used to. This may be a new training regime, and new exercise or a new weight.
What is DOMS?
DOMS is sore, stiff and painful feelings in muscles, which occur 24-48 hours following intense exercise. DOMS is almost always guaranteed to set in when an individual trains too hard during their first couple workouts after a long layoff. This pain is more prevalent following overloaded eccentric (the negative portion of the rep) muscle activity, where the muscles are placed under a load that is typically too heavy to lift, or super-slow eccentric activity where the muscle fibers are forced to flex and contract at the same time. It can also be caused by new exercises being introduced in to a training regime.
The following are thought to be responsible for DOMS:
* Small tears in the muscle or connective tissues between the fibers, usually from excessive intensity or eccentric training.
* Overly aggressive exercise by someone that is untrained , detrained or in the initial stages of a new program.
* Muscle spasms or cramping, which may starve the muscle of the nutrients it needs to recover.
* Dehydration during and after a workout. Be sure to drink your electrolyte fluids!
* The build up of lactic acid and other waste product production during training. Many experts agree that lactic acid has nothing to do with DOMS, but it may contribute a small amount due to lactic acid accumulation hindering delivery of essential nutrients to the muscles.
How to Prevent DOMS
Take these steps to prevent DOMS:
* Drink an electrolyte-based fluid during your workout.
* Drink a post-workout drink within 20 minutes of the end of your workout
* Warm up for a couple minutes prior to intense exercise.
* Cool down and stretch for 10-15 minutes after intense exercise.
* Avoid forced negative reps.
* Avoid super slow negative reps.
* Avoid assisted negative reps. (get the idea?)
* Take it easy during your first week of training, or your first week back to training after a layoff.
How to Recover from DOMS
The first basic rule of recovering from DOMS is to be pro-active in preventing DOMS in the first place.
If you are not able to avoid DOMS and now must suffer through it for a couple days.
Here are a couple ways to get through DOMS faster:
* Light exercise to stimulate blood flow. Either cardio exercise or weightlifting with very light weights.
* Time. Although annoying and sometimes embarrassing be sure that the the pain will go away after a couple days.
* Gentle massage, or better yet deep tissue massage.
* Alternating hot and cold showers. 2 minutes each.
* Alternating hot pack / ice pack treatments. 5 minutes each.
* Ice cube massage or ice bath.
* Hydrotherapy or spa baths.
* Use a foam roller on the sore areas.
Everyone experiences DOMS at some stage or another. Personally, I feel that if you don't get them from time to time then you are not pushing yourself hard enough. We should not train to get them but if they happen it means we have put the body through progressive overload.
The body will adapt to progressive overload but only does this in the recovery phase. Quality recovery time coupled with good nutrition will produce the right adaptation for our body to be able to deal with the forces being put on it. With out good recovery DOMS will sunsequently happen more often.
Train hard and eat well.
A few of the Crossfit Reading members have suffered from DOMS whether they knew it or not so I thought I would epxlain a bit about what they are, how to try and prevent them and how to treat them if you happen to get the dreaded DOMS.
Contrary to believe DOMS is not a good thing to get. The number of people I see at gyms who go out of their way to work themselves so hard that they can hardly breath let alone walk is unbelievable. Getting DOMS doesn't always mean you have worked yourself properly. It means you have put the body through a certain overload that the body is not used to. This may be a new training regime, and new exercise or a new weight.
What is DOMS?
DOMS is sore, stiff and painful feelings in muscles, which occur 24-48 hours following intense exercise. DOMS is almost always guaranteed to set in when an individual trains too hard during their first couple workouts after a long layoff. This pain is more prevalent following overloaded eccentric (the negative portion of the rep) muscle activity, where the muscles are placed under a load that is typically too heavy to lift, or super-slow eccentric activity where the muscle fibers are forced to flex and contract at the same time. It can also be caused by new exercises being introduced in to a training regime.
The following are thought to be responsible for DOMS:
* Small tears in the muscle or connective tissues between the fibers, usually from excessive intensity or eccentric training.
* Overly aggressive exercise by someone that is untrained , detrained or in the initial stages of a new program.
* Muscle spasms or cramping, which may starve the muscle of the nutrients it needs to recover.
* Dehydration during and after a workout. Be sure to drink your electrolyte fluids!
* The build up of lactic acid and other waste product production during training. Many experts agree that lactic acid has nothing to do with DOMS, but it may contribute a small amount due to lactic acid accumulation hindering delivery of essential nutrients to the muscles.
How to Prevent DOMS
Take these steps to prevent DOMS:
* Drink an electrolyte-based fluid during your workout.
* Drink a post-workout drink within 20 minutes of the end of your workout
* Warm up for a couple minutes prior to intense exercise.
* Cool down and stretch for 10-15 minutes after intense exercise.
* Avoid forced negative reps.
* Avoid super slow negative reps.
* Avoid assisted negative reps. (get the idea?)
* Take it easy during your first week of training, or your first week back to training after a layoff.
How to Recover from DOMS
The first basic rule of recovering from DOMS is to be pro-active in preventing DOMS in the first place.
If you are not able to avoid DOMS and now must suffer through it for a couple days.
Here are a couple ways to get through DOMS faster:
* Light exercise to stimulate blood flow. Either cardio exercise or weightlifting with very light weights.
* Time. Although annoying and sometimes embarrassing be sure that the the pain will go away after a couple days.
* Gentle massage, or better yet deep tissue massage.
* Alternating hot and cold showers. 2 minutes each.
* Alternating hot pack / ice pack treatments. 5 minutes each.
* Ice cube massage or ice bath.
* Hydrotherapy or spa baths.
* Use a foam roller on the sore areas.
Everyone experiences DOMS at some stage or another. Personally, I feel that if you don't get them from time to time then you are not pushing yourself hard enough. We should not train to get them but if they happen it means we have put the body through progressive overload.
The body will adapt to progressive overload but only does this in the recovery phase. Quality recovery time coupled with good nutrition will produce the right adaptation for our body to be able to deal with the forces being put on it. With out good recovery DOMS will sunsequently happen more often.
Train hard and eat well.
