Let’s Talk About Muscle Soreness
Advice from Years of Experience
The motivation has kicked in and you had a great workout. You are feeling strong and confident like you have the strength of a superhero – and then a day later it hits you – ahhh my muscles they are soooo sore 😩
Well that’s what I want to talk about today. I am proud of you for training your body and I want to encourage you to continue moving forward with passion and excitement 🔥
Let’s start by talking about why your muscles get sore. Yes you worked hard, but understanding the contributing factors to soreness is important to understand how to prevent or recover from delayed onset-muscle soreness (DOMs).
Strength training involves movements that promote muscular adaptation with the goal of increasing strength, endurance, power and muscle size (also known as hypertrophy). To promote muscular adaptation the weights you use must be challenging enough to tear the muscle fiber and this is why many people experience muscle soreness.
Doing 10 reps of dumbbell curls with 2 lbs dumbbells won’t make you sore and coincidentally won’t help you build noticeable gains in your bicep muscles. Performing sets where the resistance requires 65-85% of your maximum effort will over time result in gains in both power and muscular development.
Our bodies possess incredible adaptation capabilities. When you see an athlete setting records, an actress transformed for a movie role, or a bodybuilder with muscles bulging from head-to-toe, their bodies have adapted in response to the consistent training they have been performing over a period of time.
So how about you? Are you achieving the gains you are seeking? Is muscle soreness holding you back? Here are some tips on how to progress toward your goals while minimizing the impact of delayed-onset-muscle soreness (DOMs).
“Give Me One More Rep – Actually Not This Workout”
We are tempted to go all out just like we see athletes doing on social media, in the gyms where we train, or in the montages of those inspiring 80’s movies. Here’s the deal – to get stronger and achieve the gains you seek you have to work hard, but how hard should you work? Ask 5 different trainers you will probably get at least 4 different answers.
A core principle of my program is to leave a rep or two in the tank. Really? Yes. If you perform four sets of 10 reps on an exercise, then at least 3 of those sets I want you to finish without failing (failing = needing a spotter to help you on the last rep). The law of diminishing returns applies here – each subsequent rep you perform contributes to positive gains but how much of a gain does that forced rep or two cost you in terms of increased recovery time?
Recovery is key 🔑
“Each workout should set up the next workout.” Say for example I crushed chest day pushing 90-95% of max with a spotter helping me force 2 reps per set, but I can’t lift my shoulders over my head for two days and I miss my upcoming shoulders back workout – the result is my training program is less effective than it could have been. I want to finish Chest Day and be set up for an excellent Shoulders and Back workout 36-48 hours later.
2. Workout sequencing
Your training should incorporate strength, cardio, and mobility training. How you space them out can set you up for success. A pattern which works well for me LIFT - RIDE - LIFT - RIDE - LIFT - RIDE - REST. This gives me 48 hours between strength training sessions maximizing recovery time and allowing the body to achieve positive adaptation.
Say Monday is Chest Day and it was a strong workout. Getting on a bike or going for a run on Tuesday will not put strain on those chest muscles or the shoulder complex which took the majority of the stress on Monday’s workout. Get those miles in and build your cardiovascular endurance which targets the muscles differently than strength training does .
3. Streeeetch - Every Day
Keep mobility training a priority and do 10-15 minutes of stretching or yoga every day to ensure you are always ready for your next workout. If you are over 40 this becomes very important. Over 50? This becomes extremely critical to your success. I recommend stretching pre-workout, post-workout, and between sets. Remember to progress the stretch to the point where you just enter discomfort but are a long way from pain. Breathe into the stretch and hold it for 15-30 seconds.
4. Tart Cherry Juice for the Win
You may have heard about Tart Cherry Juice and the benefits to the body. Yes, tart cherry juice has been shown to help reduce muscle soreness and inflammation post-workout. Tart cherries are rich in anthocyanins, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that may reduce muscle damage.
Several studies show that tart cherries can help reduce the intensity and duration of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after intense workouts or endurance events. To work effectively drink 8 oz or the equivalent of 1 oz of concentrate mixed with water immediately post workout.
5. Did You Remember Your Warm-up?
OK, so we talked about stretching before, during, and after your workout. The warm up is also key. It is important to get the heart rate elevated to a high zone 1 or low zone 2. Your warm up is not a cardio-vascular training class so remember it is a gentle warm up – you should be able to breath easily and have a conversation. Once you have the blood flowing, next up is to get the joints moving with light resistance bands or cables moving the shoulders and hips in particular because those are the two largest movement mechanisms of the body. I will post some recommendations for a warm up in the Free Resources section of the site later this week – be sure to check those out. A good 6-8 minute warm-up before strength training is a non-negotiable for me.
6. Take a Victory Lap
OK so hear me out on this one. No, I am not suggesting you finish a set and then circle around the gym high-fiving everyone and expecting other gym-goers to shower you with praise for your hard work.
Here is what I mean – when doing a compound exercise like bench press that uses a heavier resistance load you expend a lot of energy and the blood really starts flowing through the body. That is exactly the response you want. But sitting down on the bench waiting for the next set – I find that my joints stiffen up. The solution? Get up and walk about 10 - 15 meters from the bench station and then circle back. I often stop at the stretch station and dead hang stretch for about 10 seconds to release tension in the shoulders before heading back to the bench for my next set.
I am sure some watching me at the gym may be thinking “There goes Tom again prancing around the place like it's a movie montage.” But that’s not really the purpose. Keeping the body moving by gently “walking it out” can be a great reset to prepare the body for the next set. Bench press, Shoulder Press, and Squats are where I do this most often.
Thanks for reading and I hope you find these tips helpful. Let me know if you tried any of these suggestions and what your experience was. I definitely want to hear from you. Muscle soreness is most prevalent when a person first starts strength training because the body is just starting to adapt. Performing exercises with good form and following some of the tips here you should find that with each workout the soreness is less intense and shorter in duration because your body is successfully adapting to the training.
I am always here if you have questions. Click the button to Book a Free 30-minute consultation.
Best of luck with your training and I hope to hear from you soon 💪🏻
- Tom