Muscle soreness explained
Remember that time when you exercised so hard that a day or two you were struggling so bad with pain and aches all over your body? I think we’ve all felt that.
While it’s not a pleasant feeling, it’s good to know why you are feeling it. So in this post I explain what muscle soreness is, what causes it, and if it’s a sign of a good workout. I’ll also share five things you can do to recover quicker.
What is muscle soreness?
Muscle soreness, technically referred to as Delayed Offset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is the muscle pain and stiffness felt after a workout. The soreness generally starts anywhere between 12 to 24 hours post exercise and can last up to 72 hours.
What causes muscle soreness?
Muscle soreness is caused by eccentric training, which is any exercise that causes a muscle to lengthen in size the same time it’s contracted (typically when lifting weights).
A good example is the final (lowering) phase of a bicep curl where the bicep is most stretched out. This type of movement causes micro tears to the muscle which then cause soreness.
Is muscle soreness a sign of muscle growth?
Yes and no.
Yes because eccentric training is one way to grow muscles, and soreness generally means you did a workout effective enough to cause microtrauma to the muscle, therefore allowing it to rebuild bigger and stronger.
No due to a few reasons. Firstly, eccentric training is not the only way to grow muscles. There are other forms of training such as lifting heavier weights focusing on the concentric part of the exercise (for example the flexing of the bicep during a bicep curl) that can still cause muscle growth with minimal to no soreness felt.
Finally, some muscle groups such as the shoulder muscles experience less soreness when compared to others such as lower body muscles and biceps. So the lack of soreness doesn’t always mean you didn’t train hard.
Also important to note is that excessive soreness felt longer than 72 hours post exercise could mean you overtrained your muscles. If this happens, recovery is key and next time you train, tone it down a notch!
5 ways to recover from muscle soreness
Now you know the fundamentals of muscles soreness, let’s find out how to manage and recover from it quickly.
Do not train the sore muscle group
Having sore muscles doesn’t mean you have to stop training. Continue exercising, however train a different muscle group to the one that is sore, as overtraining it can cause damage.
Recovery of sore muscles can take anywhere from 28-48 hours depending on the intensity of your workout and your individual circumstances.
Get good nutrition
This is especially important when you have trained hard. Your nutrition is what's going to ensure that the muscles recover and rebuild correctly.
For muscle recovery, you’ll need a good amount of protein in your diet. The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recommends 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight a day (or 0.6 to 0.9 grams of protein per pound). As an example a man that weights 80kgs (or 176lbs) requires anywhere between 112-160 grams of protein per day.
Stretch
Focus on stretching the muscles you worked out. Stretching has many benefits such as increasing flexibility, improve blood flow and most importantly it can help alleviate muscle soreness. When muscles are worked out, they tend to get tightened up. Stretching will help them relax and provide the room required for recovery. Ideally you want to stretch after you exercise or before bedtime and hold each stretch for at least 20 seconds.
Get enough sleep
No matter how hard you train, what you do outside your training matters a lot too. That includes your sleep.
Your body produces its own muscle-building hormones while you sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, it’s during the N3 (deep) stage of sleep that muscle repair and tissue growth occurs. It’s during the REM cycle of sleep that muscles relax and any tension and pain is relieved.
That’s why it’s so important to get quality sleep every night, for at least seven to nine hours.
Try a magnesium supplement
Magnesium is known to aid proper muscle function and acts to relieve tight, sore and cramped muscles. It controls muscle contraction and acts as a muscle relaxant. This could help relieve soreness during your recovery phase.
I hope this article has helped you understand what muscles soreness is and how to manage it better going forward.
Get in touch if you want any specialised advice or if you have any thoughts on this topic. I’m keen to hear from you!