Have you ever had that painful feeling in your legs, or back or chest after a heavy workout ,
You know the feeling, where its so painful you have to walk down stairs backwards to avoid that aching in your quads or use 2 hands to hold a cup of water as your arms hurt so much from that last bicep curl!. Well that soreness is call DOMS and below i will show you how to get rid of it quickly!
Delayed onset of muscle soreness or DOMS refers to the pain and stiffness experienced in the muscles 12-72 hours after training. Generally its caused by the eccentric action of an exercise (this is when the muscle lengthens under contraction). DOMS is the resulting symptom of exercise induced muscle damage.
It is typically characterized as a dull aching pain with stiffness and tenderness. At rest it shouldn't really be felt, the real pain occurs when you apply pressure to it or stretch the effected muscle. The pain is thought to be the result of mechanical damage on a very small scale to the muscle being exercised.
Although i as a personal trainer love DOMS here are a few do’s and don'ts to help get you through the pain!
DO'S
You know the feeling, where its so painful you have to walk down stairs backwards to avoid that aching in your quads or use 2 hands to hold a cup of water as your arms hurt so much from that last bicep curl!. Well that soreness is call DOMS and below i will show you how to get rid of it quickly!
Delayed onset of muscle soreness or DOMS refers to the pain and stiffness experienced in the muscles 12-72 hours after training. Generally its caused by the eccentric action of an exercise (this is when the muscle lengthens under contraction). DOMS is the resulting symptom of exercise induced muscle damage.
It is typically characterized as a dull aching pain with stiffness and tenderness. At rest it shouldn't really be felt, the real pain occurs when you apply pressure to it or stretch the effected muscle. The pain is thought to be the result of mechanical damage on a very small scale to the muscle being exercised.
Although i as a personal trainer love DOMS here are a few do’s and don'ts to help get you through the pain!
DO'S
- Increase blood flow to the effected area- This can be achieved by simply going to see a sports massage therapist or completing some low intensity cardiovascular work such as walking or swimming. Bathing in hot water has also been shown to improve blood flow.
- Get your nutrition sorted – You’re not going to recover quickly on hot dogs and bags of crisps, opt for good proteins sources packed with good fats, oily fish like salmon is always a good choice. Check out our nutrition page For more ideas on what to eat:- https://www.facebook.com/kylemarr.pt/media_set?set=a.110393172443816.19956.100004194013720&.
Meals high in magnesium will really help too!
- Sleep, Sleep and more sleep- The most effective recovery does not occur when you’re walking around after the gym session. It happens when you’re in bed asleep dreaming about your next workout.
- Learn to love them- They wont kill you they’re just uncomfortable!
- Get ice baths- Although the research is mixed the negative effects of bathing in cold water such as elevated cortisol levels far outweigh any pain relief that may be achieved.
- Forget to stretch- Don’t go mad with aggressive stretching techniques as these will likely cause more DOMS, opt for light stretching combined with some low intensity cardio.