DOMS - is it necessary?

[bestoutwest]

Wasn't sure how to word that, but what I meant was - if you DON'T have DOMS the next day, did you really work hard enough. Or, another way to put it, should you have DOMS after heavy weight workouts and if not, are you not lifting heavy enough? Sometimes I do feel it the next day, sometimes I don't.

 

[truton]

That's a good question and I've often wondered same thing. If we're doing our workouts intensely enough should we always have at least some doms? I hope someone chimes in with an answer.

 

[shelia]

my thoughts are that if you eat the right foods your soreness should be minimal -unless it is a new workout or you've upped wts etc.I get doms some but not like I use to. I think the whey protein after workout helps alot along with creatine for me.I don't like doms but I like to feel tight and pumped .I really think you know whether you are pushing yourself as hard as you should be.I would like to hear others thoughts on this also.

 

[allwildgirl]

I'd love to hear an answer to this. During the kicking drills in Kick Max, Cathe says something about "your legs are going to be screaming tomorrow". But mine never are, and I'm working HARD. I know I am because it's tough. But I don't feel it the next day.

 

[MadnNatsmom]

I read somewhere (sorry, can't remember) that DOMS shouldn't be a used as a gauge of your workout's intensity. Not everyone experiences DOMS, some experience it to a lesser degree while some people are practically incapacitated by it.

Rather, muscle fatigue/exhaustion during the exercise should be used to gauge how hard you're working.

I recently learned during my AFAA certification workshops that DOMS is more related to the eccentric motion (negative) of the exercise, but it also translates to greater strength gains.

 

[40something]

I'm just going to chime in here that over my lifetime of working out since I was a teen, I have rarely experienced DOMS and I am very fit and strong. My opinion of DOMS has always been that new exerciser's experience this and when Cathe refers to 'how sore' you're going to be the next day...surely she is not talking to advanced exerciser's or we are all not doing something right!

It's like the first time I go riding in the spring...saddle soreness is just a given but after the first week I do not experience it again. We become conditioned to the work and as long as we maintain that level of conditioning, we should not experience muscle soreness. Now, we used to go on 3 and 4 day rides...you'll discover new muscles in those situation's too because your butt isn't used to sitting in the saddle that much.

 

[CurlyQ]

DOMS is not indicative of an inadequate workout but many people think that it is, myself included - I can't help it even though I know it's not true. In fact, I recently learned in my resistance training course that DOMS shouldn't be experienced more than twice a week otherwise the muscles don't have enough time to recover and can work against someone trying to gain muscle.

I experience DOMS after every strength workout (and some cardio) and I've been exercising for years (10+). It has more to do with how your body handles lactic acid. Everyone has a different lactate threshold, mine is particularly low and therefore I experience more DOMS than someone with a higher threshold. Now, I'm sure that if I did the same workout for weeks at a time and never upped my weight I might not experience DOMS.

 

[kathryn]

>I experience DOMS after every strength workout (and some
>cardio) and I've been exercising for years (10+). It has more
>to do with how your body handles lactic acid. Everyone has a
>different lactate threshold, mine is particularly low and
>therefore I experience more DOMS than someone with a higher
>threshold. Now, I'm sure that if I did the same workout for
>weeks at a time and never upped my weight I might not
>experience DOMS.

I was reading recently that DOMS most likely (they are not sure) have anything to do with lactic acid (whereas that "burn" during the workout is a sign of lactic acid build-up). It's a sign of microtrauma, but excessive or prolonged DOMS, as you suggest, may be a sign that the micro trauma is becoming MACROtrauma, and the body can't repair it effectively.

I get caught up in the "if it hurts, it works!" mentality regarding DOMS (something that non-exercisers or exercise haters would probably not understand), but I also have read that consuming more antioxidants can reduce DOMS, so it may also depend on what you eat as well.

I rarely get DOMS with Slow and Heavy, even though I really work hard during the workout. On the other hand, endurance workouts like PH give me major DOMS at times. (I especially like DOMS in the glute region!)

 

[vidfan]

Here's a link to a short article on DOMS. Dr. Mirkin claims that lactic acid buildup is not a factor, but that DOMS is actually indicative of damage to muscle fibers.

http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/1346.html

 

[kala44]

That was a very informative article! Thanks. I was under the impression that my soreness was partially due to lactic acid as well as the tearing down of the muscle so it can rebuild itself stronger. It's nice to know the truth!!

 

[dss62467]

I sure hope you don't need to feel DOMS, because I haven't since I was a beginner. And I'm working as hard as I can!