DOMS- What to do when your muscles are crying at you

1 May 2014

Tags: strength, injury prevention, health,

Should you train when you are achy and sore?
Is it doing you good or bad?
What are the ways we can mitigate the soreness after a hard session?

What is the soreness? Well, we affectionately refer to it as DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. The next day you think you have got away with it, but then the day after that........OWWWWWW!

Nick Mitchell calls it a 'hangover for the muscles'. Basically it is a swelling of the cell walls plus general inflammation of the area caused by the concentration of certain muscle substrates.

We typically experience it when we increase either intensity (weight) or volume (number of repetitions) or work muscles you haven't worked in a while (an effective increase in both volume and intensity).

If you are paralysed from your eye balls to your toes with severe DOMS then it's probably best not to come to training, but if you are a bit achy in a few places then the good news is that training will make you feel better;you will feel less achy the following day. This is due to the increased blood flow, which happens during exercise, reducing the inflammation and flooding the muscles with nutrients.

So make it your plan in future to come down to training, do the warm up, and then assess how you are feeling. That will determine how hard you intend to work during the session.

DO NOT MAKE THE DECISION IN BED!! Last time I checked too many dodgy decisions are made between the sheets (I couldn't resist).

What are the Ways to Prevent or Mitigate Your Soreness?

1. Wear your full length SKINS to bed the night after a big workout (BONUS TIP: do this every night while on a snow holiday and your longevity on the slopes will be increased by 48hrs)

2. Take a good magnesium supplement like Bioceuticals Ultra Muscleze. This is also great for cramps, difficulty falling asleep, or restless legs.

3. Take a hot bath with Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulphate). It is dirt cheap, purchased almost anywhere, and will be absorbed through the skin. Plus you can get your candle light vibe on...which may help your DOMS too.

4. Massage- if you have the cash. Remember you have X amount of dollars of extras with your private health specifically for massage.

5. Foam rolling is part of life if you want to stay in tip top shape. Do it while watching TV, or my personal preference is to do it first thing when I wake up (in the dark...in my skins.....while dreaming of my epsom salts bath and candle light from the night before).