What is DOM and why does it hurt?

DOMS stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This has become a well known phrase in our house. With both of us working out at the gym 4-6 days per week, there is always that work out that will sneak up on you a few days later.


You have been to the gym....had a great workout...tons of sweat and you feel as though you worked hard.

Then.....

One to two days later you arise from bed with a one or a few muscles that disagree with you on the healthy part of working out.

Delayed onset muscle soreness is that 'not so pleasant' feeling that hits you 24-48 hours after exercise. It slowly goes away over the next week. Yes...over a week. Brushing your teeth or climbing the stairs might be a 'moaning moment'.


There are some educated guesses on what causes DOMS:
Damage t muscle fibers and connective tissue. Exercise can damage muscle fibers and cause inflammation and swelling.

Shortage of oxygen. Exercise causes swelling of muscle tissue and produces pressure inside the muscle. Increased pressure reduces blood flow and cause muscle spasms

Time is the only healer of DOMS. Make sure you stretch it out too. Ease into your work outs, warm up and cool down are very important. You can still workout with DOMS but dont' push it and take it easy.

I have been working out for over 5 months now and decided to up the workout. I had hit that plateau. So I went in with a new routine and more reps. Sounded like a great plan. Well I think the plateau was bigger and set in more than I thought.

The new work out was great, I was exhausted at the end, I totally went for the reps til failure.



Cannot lift my arms over my head now....great workout!!! Back at it tomorrow...just not so much this time.