Dealing With Soreness and Stiffness After Exercising

Do you know that “OH MY GOSH” moment when you get in or out of your car and your legs feel stiff and sore? Yes, we know about it too, because we often hear about it when you return for you next session. These happy little moments are a condition known as delayed onset muscle soreness, or more commonly, DOMS. We want to take a moment to explain why it happens, how to get through it, and offer some information on ways to reduce or prevent it.

Why does it happen?
Despite the discomfort of it all, DOMS is a common, and natural, effect of progressive training programs. Basically, DOMS is caused by muscle fibers performing at intensities beyond those experienced in the preceding days, or for some, the lack of it. For our veteran clients, DOMS may occur if a new exercise movement was introduced, or if you are working to improve your personal record on certain lifts. And for our newer clients, most things done in our training sessions for the first few weeks will be both new and more intense than previously experienced.

Now that I know why I feel sore by the next day, what can I do to feel better?
Well, up to now, nothing has been proven to be consistently effective. However, from our own personal experiences and research, we can offer some tips that have been working for most of your fellow clients (listed in order of OUR preference):
• Exercise: yes, light cardiovascular exercise will help increase circulation to the area and quell the tenderness.
• Stretching: gently stretching, by yourself or with help, may help you feel better—most effective after light exercise. Yoga is popular for its slower movements and stretching.
• RICE: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. This helps to dull the ache and subdue inflammation.
• Massage: gently kneading the muscles can help to reduce inflammation and tightness.
• NSAIDs: anti-inflammatory meds (Advil, Motrin, Aleve) may help to only mask the pain temporarily (consult your physician before taking).
• Nothing: moving less and not using your muscles will help you to avoid the pain, but it will do nothing to help you feel better any faster.

Preventing DOMS
There are certain things you are already doing, and others that you could add, to help to prevent or scale back the severity of DOMS.
• Warm up: taking 10-15 minutes to do light to moderate cardiovascular exercise in the moments before more strenuous activity has a positive association with decreased pain and stiffness in the days afterward.
• Cool down: gently stretch after exercise.
• Hydrate: be well hydrated before, during, and beyond exercising.
• Pre workout meals: try to eat about 2 hours before exercising to give your muscles fuel to burn.
• Post workout meals: feed and replenish your muscles within 45-60 minutes after exercising.
• Variety: vary your exercises to avoid overtraining your muscles.
• Know yourself: you should push yourself, but know when something is truly unrealistic at that moment.