🌱 Why You Should Not Chase Soreness

WHY YOU SHOULD NOT CHASE SORENESS

529 words | 1 min 55 sec read

QUOTE OF THE DAY

How you feel in the 24-48 hours following a training session is NOT a valid and reliable method of determining whether the session was effective or not.

I am sure we have all felt a little bit tender after:

• Trying a new exercise

• Adding more weight and/or reps to a familiar exercise

This is known as DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

To be delve into the science of it all - training causes damage to muscle fibres and cause an inflammatory response.

This is normal, it is a result of the stress (eccentric lengthening) on your muscles during weight training or high intensity activities (Run/Sprints).

Stress that your muscles aren’t used to.

This is why it hurts taking the stairs, standing from a chair, putting your coat on.

But doing something our muscles aren’t used to is what gives them the signals to grow.

Soreness may feel satisfying when you first start training, but over time this should slowly start to happen less & less.

But why?

There is a concept called the repeated bout effect.

It states that the training session we just completed signals us to adapt and protect us from future training sessions = we become less sore over time.

What we are doing here is making a subjective judgement on how sore our muscles feel, and associating that with how hard you must have worked.

The body adapts over time, and the severity of DOMS may also decrease. Your body becomes better at handling the intensity of training the more you do it.

But, (there is a clear difference between pain and injury - persistent or sharp pain during or after exercise may indicate an underlying issue - so it is important to know the difference).

But what if DOMS won’t go away?..

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY & TELL YOUR COACH

If you find yourself constantly sore after training, then consider these 5 factors:

• Sleep - Are you getting enough sleep for your body to recover?

• Nutrition - Are you eating enough protein to promote adaptation

• Volume - We may need to do 2 Sets per exercise instead of 3-4 Sets

• Active Recovery - Walk / Bike can be great to help blood flow to the sore areas

• Cold Water Immersion - Can have a physical & psychological benefit

THE PERFORMANCE JOURNAL DAY 28 🌱 

YESTERDAYS STRAIN - 14.1 (Full Body Session - Incline Bench Press/RDL/Arms/Leg Extension)

RECOVERY - 82%

TODAYS SESSION - Week 5 Day 3: RFESS/RDL/Pull Ups

ACTIONABLE NEXT STEPS ⬇️

Chasing soreness as a marker for growth and progress will just run you into the ground over 3-12 months.

And you’ll get nowhere.

As long as the following are moving in the direction you want them to, you’re growing:

• Scale Weight

• Weight on the bar

• Body Measurements

• Progress Pics

• Mental Health (Psychological enjoyment)

If you’re feeling too sore too often - you may want to speak to your Coach and adapt & refine elements of the performance cornerstones (Training, Nutrition, Recovery, Mindset)

See you Thursday 🌱