After some time off from the gym or just beginning a new workout program, post-exercise muscle soreness may be something you have to experience to get back in shape, knowing that the pain will subside after a few days. However, while you might be able to regulate your intensity and work through soreness, continuous intense workouts that ignore pain can do more harm than good, breaking muscles down instead of the desired effect of hypertrophy.

DOMS

Muscle pain that manifests a day or two after lifting is
known as delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. At one time thought to be
caused by the buildup of lactic acid in muscle tissue, current science
attributes DOMS to micro-tears in muscle tissue followed by an inflammatory
response that promotes healing. According to SportsInjuryClinic.net, DOMS should
ease within three days and completely disappear within a week. Pain that
persists beyond a week is not normal, and may require medical
attention.

Training and Recovery

It has been a long-held rule of weight training that you
should allow a minimum of 48 hours recovery time between workouts for the same
muscle group. However, exercise scientist and professional bodybuilder David
Knowles asserts that muscle damage sustained during very high intensity workouts
like those done by bodybuilders and powerlifters can take up to 30 days for full
recovery. Continuing to lift when muscles are sore can slow recovery and keep
you from getting desired results. Knowles says he often takes up to eight or
nine days after an intense workout before working the same muscle group
again.

Exercise as a DOMS Antidote

As much as you may be tempted to continue your lifting
routine and work through muscle soreness, the American College of Sports
Medicine notes that muscles improve during recovery, not during training.
Training merely triggers an adaptation response that takes place over time as
the cells become stronger. Continuing to lift may inhibit the adaptation
response, breaking muscles down rather than building them up. However, if
staying away from the gym is not an option, SportsInjuryClinic.net advises
exercises of a non-weight-bearing nature, such as swimming and stretching, until
soreness is completely gone.

DOMS Prevention and Treatment

While therapies like nutritional supplements,
hydrotherapy baths and massage are reported by some to be soothing,
SportsInjuryClinic.net asserts that time is the only real healer for DOMS.
Meanwhile, preventive measures like doing a thorough warm-up before lifting,
stretching worked muscles afterward and increasing exercise intensity gradually
are good strategies to minimize pain while keeping your lifting schedule on
track. SportsInjuryClinic.net recommends limiting increases in intensity and
duration to 10 percent per week