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Hi guys,
I destroyed my legs with yesterday's workout, bringing me back to the usual problem of suffering from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, (commonly referred to as DOMS). Once again, this might prevent me from working out another part of my body today, especially cardio after. Anyone have any remedies or tricks besides pain medication and time to help ease this a bit?
Aspirin after the work out should help, possibly Advil or something with ibuprofen as well.
I was hoping for a more "natural" remedy, but I'll take your advice for now!
I did manage to get in a chest/tricep workout yesterday, but my cardio was limited to an hour walk. Thanks for the reply. :tu
From my understanding, the stiffness you feel is actually the lactic acid build up in your muscles, which cause the stiffness, soreness and discomfort. I know that when I get that, the best thing I can do is actually go to the gym, do my usual dynamic warmup, and then do my weight program targeting another part of my body, then a nice walk for about 30 minutes, that will "disperse" the lactic acid in your muscles, followed by a hot bath/shower and you should be good.
Also, if you keep doing that, you will build up a resistance and the lactic acid will disperse quicker and quicker slowly increasing your recovery time.
I agree with you there, I did notice while I was in my gym that the discomfort was temporarily gone, as when I was walking. Usually this is a beginners problem, but I don't feel like I've gotten a sufficient pump on my muscles if they don't hurt the next day, so I constantly push for more. In fact, they hurt the most on the second day after a hard workout. That's why this is a reoccurring problem for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phrank
Cool - I do a four day program, seems similar to yours, doing drop sets of 5 sets, 12 reps, 10, 8, 6, 4 with the weight going up as reps decline. I usually drink half a protein shake before the gym, and a full vegan protein shake after, you know the, "Recover/Rebuild" kind, which I change brand and mix every tub. Also, plenty of water, water, water, water...and if I get sore enough, I don't take aspirin, I will take one Ibuprofen, which is an anti-inflammatory, and seems to take any discomfort away pretty quickly, but that's only if I do a brutal workout.Quote:
Originally Posted by Firefighter2
I know I've had a good bicep/tricep day when I can barely shave....:D
I like it, mine's fairly similar. I'm currently on a program pretty much like this, not always in this order, and usually with cardio after every day. I like to switch it up though.
Day 1- chest/triceps
Day2- biceps and abs
Day3- back
Day4- shoulders & traps
Day5- quads, hamstrings, and calves
I know what you mean about biceps day, you end up looking like T-Rex, or Mr. Burns on The Simpsons. ;) I also take in copious amounts of protein, but I'm glad you mentioned the water. I've always thought I don't drink enough water in the day, drinking more would probably help with the DOMS.
Mine is almost exactly that, and my PT is always reminding me about water. Not just drinking a couple of big glasses a few times a day which you just end up pissing out in ten minutes, but sipping water all day to keep yourself hydrated.Quote:
Originally Posted by Firefighter2
A lot of people complain about dry skin etc., when many time's you're just not hydrated enough, it's tough to remember, agreed.
Other two days for me are bike rides, lots of walks and hikes down at the beach here in Toronto, and one day, sometimes, to do the total day "rest day" thing.
Muscle roller helps. Check out the link.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...r+sore+muscles
Right on. Sometimes on the 6th day I'll pick a muscle group to work that is no longer sore, but the seventh day of rest is definitely crucial to muscle growth. Muscles don't grow in the gym, they grow in bed. Sounds like you're PT is helping you with a good routine, I like the advice to drink water in moderation so it doesn't go right through you. Gonna' do that now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phrank
Other than massage I do not see anything else natural that can help.Quote:
Originally Posted by Firefighter2
I do aspirin after the work out and get very little DOMS.
Thanks, I'll try Aspirin. Aleve doesn't seem to work for me, although it should be comparable to Aspirin. :shrug:Quote:
Originally Posted by mainaman
I've often recommended some sort of NSAID before a workout if a client knows they'll be pushing that hard. Usually though, I try to "build up" any client to that point before I show no mercy. For me as a Trainer, it's easy to take an "untrained" individual (not implying you're untrained) but if you really want to test a Trainer, put a highly conditioned athlete with that same Trainer and see what happens. If a trainer is good, he or she can challenge even a highly trained person. To take the "typical" Al Bundy type, who hasn't done much physical work since high school sports, and work that person until DOMS sets in isn't a fair fight...any decent Trainer would win that one every time. All things being equal, once it sets in, DOMS is usually worse two days later as you've likely experienced by now.
DOMS is a result of microtears not lactic acid.
Don't forget to stretch.
correct...the more current research has shown us that the microtearing of the cell walls is the culprit...the lactic acid build up, once thought to be the reason, only indicates that the muscle has contracted to the point of not being able to "flush it out" quickly enough due to the continued contraction OF said muscle...that's why I strongly encourage clients to not quite fully extend at the top of the movement where relaxation can occur, say like at the start/finish of the squat, the barbell curl or locking out at the top of the bench press...this can indeed become a long reply that I'll resist the urge to indulge...lol