Most of you at some point would have experienced that muscle soreness you get having worked out? Clambering out of bed, shuffling down the stairs, struggling to sit down at your desk the soreness hurts so bad.

Its called Delayed Onset of Muscular Soreness aka DOMS! Its generally a good indicator that you has trained hard enough in the gym. Most people will assume the soreness means they’re getting stronger and bigger. It does make sense to think this, but its not always necessarily true. Research is somewhat murky surrounding DOMS and whether they’re actually an indicator that we have trained hard enough.

Before moving on to what we can do to at least reduce the soreness lets look at some myths surrounding delayed onset of muscular soreness;

• Genetics play a role
• Eccentric Contractions will create more DOMS compared to the concentric contraction
• Muscle soreness can be further aggravated by stress and sleep deprivation
• The amount of soreness depends on the muscle being trained
• Massage and Ice Baths are typically known for reducing DOMS. If they have any benefit its short lived and only an immediate cure
• Static stretching will not reduce the likelihood of DOMS post workout

Caffeine

is known to already be a great pre workout stimulus and has benefits on both endurance and strength training. Its ability to reduce DOMS is a lot less unknown, but it does appear to be one of the most effective ways of reducing if not curing DOMS.Caffeine

Why: Scientists suggest that caffeine reduces muscular soreness because it blocks central nervous receptors related to pain.

Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA)

These little badboys are already known for their supposed ability to reduce muscle soreness and improve recovery.

Why: BCAAs increase protein synthesis and reduce muscle breakdown, conserving tissue during intense training. BCAAS preserves the integrity of the muscle fibers for less post-workout pain.

Warm Up

Warming up before starting your sets may lead to less soreness post workout. Before starting an actually set, do a couple warm up sets on a lighter load. Example if you’re doing Chest Press. Do 3 or 4 warm up sets, 5 to 6 reps of a lighter load before start your actual set.

Why: Supposedly the initial training increases sarcomeres and causes adaptations in the inflammatory response. Then, the extra sarcomeres reduce the strain on muscle fibers during the second bout, leading to less muscle damage.