Fighting Muscle Soreness

Muscle soreness is a part of any intense weight training workout. Regardless of what the media, television personalities and guru types tell you, there is one constant reality to all types of fitness programs. No matter who you are, or who you were in a previous life, anytime you begin a new physical activity, be it a fitness program or sport.....

Your Muscles Will Be Sore!

There are no magic pills, potions, creams, rubs, wraps or massages that will completely alleviate the pain associated with stiff sore muscles.

There are measures however, that you can take to limit the amount of soreness you feel in your muscles. But, and it's a big but, in order to build muscle mass, there is little that can be done.

The reality of all muscle building weight training programs is that in order to build muscle, you must cause "damage" to your muscle cells. By using advanced training techniques such as progressive overload, dynamic contraction training and the like, you guarantee that your muscles will receive the proper stimulation for muscle growth.

Lifting heavy weights causes the appropriate "damage" to your muscle cells to begin the muscle-building process. The result of this "damage" is uncomfortable, painful stiff and sore muscles.

Types of Muscle Soreness...

There are two distinct types of soreness when it comes to muscles, Acute Muscle Soreness and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS.

Acute Muscle Soreness or AMS is the soreness that "occurs late in an exercise bout and during the immediate recovery period". An example of AMS is the "muscle burn" feeling when completing a heavy cardio or strength training session.

AMS typically results from an accumulation of the water products manufactured during exercise, H+ and lactate, as well as tissue edema.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS as it's name suggests is the soreness that you begin to feel a day or two after the exercise session.

The primary cause of DOMS seems to be eccentric contraction, ( the negative portion of the exercise). Eccentric contractions lead to structural damage inside the muscle cells and inflammation within the muscle cells.

Even though sore muscles are a reality of ALL muscle building weight training programs, there are steps that you can take to help minimize muscle the amount of soreness you feel.

1.) To alleviate severe DOMS, reduce the eccentric component of weight bearing exercises.

2.) Beginners should start training programs at a low intensity and gradually increase the intensity as their body adapts.

3.) When you begin intense weight training start with a high-intensity, exhaustive bout to cause muscle soreness initially, but decrease future pain

Sore, stiff muscles are a simple yet painful fact of any type of muscle gain training. Accepting the inevitable pain of stiff and sore muscles is the first step toward preparing yourself for high intensity training.

Learning how to minimize the pain of sore muscles will not only allow you carry on with your life (both inside and outside of the gym),but it will allow you to train at a higher intensity and thereby reap the numerous rewards of high intensity training!