And WhatWhy Do We Ache After E Can We Do About It?
If you’ve ever started a new exercise programme, returned to the gym after a break or suddenly used muscles you haven’t challenged for a while, you’ll probably recognise this feeling. You wake up the following morning, attempt to walk downstairs and suddenly discover muscles you didn’t even know you had!
That post-exercise ache is incredibly common, particularly when we’re beginning something new, and understanding why it happens can make it feel much less alarming.
The technical name for it is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, usually shortened to DOMS. It typically develops after unfamiliar or more demanding exercise and is often most noticeable during the following day or two. You may feel stiff, tender or achy, particularly when you move the muscles you’ve been training.
People sometimes say that this soreness is caused by lactic acid remaining in the muscles, but that’s an old explanation. Lactate produced during exercise is dealt with relatively quickly and isn’t sitting in your muscles the next morning causing the ache. DOMS is associated with the stress that unfamiliar exercise places on muscle tissue and the body’s subsequent repair and adaptation processes.
Interestingly, certain movements are particularly good at creating soreness. The lowering part of an exercise, known as an eccentric contraction, can be a big contributor. Think about slowly lowering yourself into a squat, walking downhill or carefully lowering a dumbbell rather than simply lifting it. If your body isn’t accustomed to that type or amount of exercise, you may really notice it afterwards.
Does that mean you need to ache after every workout?
Absolutely not.
I think this is really important because we’ve somehow developed the idea that if we’re not aching the next day, we haven’t worked hard enough. That’s simply not a useful way to measure whether a training session was effective. As your body becomes accustomed to an exercise, you may experience much less soreness even though you’re still getting stronger and fitter.
I don’t want my clients leaving every session barely able to walk the following day. Particularly when somebody is new to exercise, I’d rather introduce resistance gradually, allow the body to adapt and build from there. You don’t need to completely exhaust your muscles every time you train.
So what can you do when you are aching?
For ordinary post-exercise soreness, I generally like gentle movement rather than spending the whole day completely still. A walk, some easy mobility work or gentle yoga can often feel lovely when you’re stiff. You’re not trying to do another hard workout; you’re simply getting your body moving comfortably again.
Recovery matters too. Give the muscles you’ve trained appropriate time before challenging them hard again. Sleep is enormously important for recovery, and so is eating properly. If you’re strength training, make sure you’re getting enough protein as part of a balanced diet because your body needs amino acids to maintain and repair muscle tissue. Staying normally hydrated is important too.
Heat can feel wonderful when you’re stiff — a warm bath or shower can be very comforting — and some people enjoy gentle massage or foam rolling. These things may help you feel better, although none of them is a magical shortcut that instantly removes DOMS.
And then there’s stretching. I love stretching and mobility work because of my yoga background, but stretching isn’t a guaranteed way of preventing muscle soreness. I use it because maintaining comfortable movement and mobility feels good and complements strength training, not because we can simply stretch DOMS away.
It’s also important to learn the difference between soreness and pain. A general, symmetrical muscular ache after unfamiliar exercise can be completely normal. Sudden sharp pain, significant swelling, severe weakness, pain around a joint, an inability to use a limb normally or pain that is severe or getting worse is different. Don’t simply push through something because you think exercise is supposed to hurt. If you’re concerned about significant or persistent pain after exercise, get appropriate medical advice.
This is one of the reasons I believe in progressing exercise gradually. Your body doesn’t need to be punished into becoming fitter. It needs an appropriate challenge followed by enough recovery to adapt to that challenge.
As you exercise consistently, something lovely starts to happen. Movements that once made you ache for two days become familiar. You recover more easily. You become stronger. Then, when appropriate, we increase the challenge a little again.
That’s training.
Challenge. Recover. Adapt. Repeat.
So if you’re sitting down rather gingerly the morning after your first strength session, don’t panic. A little muscle soreness can simply be part of your body experiencing something new.
Move gently, eat well, rest, recover — and remember that being unable to walk downstairs isn’t the goal.
Becoming stronger is.
Selena
Personal Trainer, Yoga Teacher & Wellbeing Coach
In Flow Wellbeing Studio, Cheltenham
