The Myths About Doms

"Delayed onset muscle  soreness (DOMS), is muscle soreness that becomes evident six-to-eight hours following activity, peaking around 24 to 48 hours post-training."1 Muscle soreness usually occurs most frequently to those individuals that are not used to intense workouts, they are newcomers to the exercising world, or simply switching up their workout routine. There are a few myths individuals who are unaware about DOMS often to believe true.

Many people are under the impression that the cause of delayed onset muscle soreness is the culprit of the build-up of lactate acid, which isn’t the issue."People produce lactate all the time, even at rest. It clears your system 30-minutes to one-hour after working out."1 While you are lifting weights you most likely experience a burning sensation and this is caused by acidic build-up in the cells and the burning vanishes shortly after the exercise. “Instead, that soreness is actually caused by tears in your muscle that occur as you exercise—especially if you're just starting an exercise regimen: "It turns out that strenuous exercise leads to microscopic tears in the muscle, which leads to inflammation and soreness.”2 The tearing of the muscle repairs itself and you then build new healthy muscle tissue. Now, the tearing of the muscle fibers does not in any way sound like a good thing and that is why people believe that muscle damage is bad.  For your muscles to enhance and grow stronger the tearing of the tissues is the building block and is crucial for growth.

There is no cure or easy way out of DOMS but there are a few ways you can ease up the post-workout soreness. Going to get a massage is beneficial and it helps spread the blood and fluid throughout the body. “Other common ways to treat DOMS include foam rolling, contrast showers (alternating between hot and cold water), Epsom salt baths, increased protein intake (to increase protein synthesis) and omega-3 supplementation (to reduce inflammation), and sleep.”2 A day or 2 of DOMS is well worth it when you begin to see the physical, emotional, and mentally results. So don’t give up because you are waddlin’ around like a duck or have a hard time getting out of bed because the benefits are life changing!

References:

1 Yu, C. (2014, August 5). No pain, no gain? 5 myths about post-workout muscle soreness.    

Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/04/health/muscle-soreness-myths/

2 Henry, A. (2012, March 21). 10 Stubborn Exercise Myths that Won’t Die, Debunked by

Science. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from

http://lifehacker.com/5895140/10-stubborn-exercise-myths-that-wont-die-debunked-by-science