SOS: Day 84
March 24, 2011 
1 Comment
Day 84
When your muscles are sore.
Muscles from Gray's Anatomy. And every single one hurts!
If you’re doing your resistance training and lifting weights, you’re likely to have muscle aches. Just ask me. I had to lift my head off the pillow this morning.
Getting sore—especially if you’re trying new things—is natural. You’re stressing your muscles and they’re talking back.
The discomfort that occurs 24-48 hours after your workout, what docs call delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, is nothing to worry about. Yes, you are damaging muscle. But it’s the damage that causes the strengthening.
When you do any strenuous exercise, you get microscopic tears in your muscles. Your pain is both from this and from the inflammation that comes with healing. Once the muscles repair themselves, they adapt, getting stronger and growing in size.
There’s no cure for DOMS, but icing your muscles can help, as can stretching, allowing the muscle a day of rest, getting a massage, participating in light exercises such as walking or swimming, using a heating pad or a stick-on wrap such as ThermaCare, and even taking mild anti-inflammatory meds like Advil or Motrin.
I’ve always found a little bit of DOMS to be a good feeling. It lets me know that I’ve had a good workout. However, as someone who has had back surgeries, I’m also aware that when, for instance, I get a sharp pain running down my leg after working my back instead of simple aches, then I’m dealing with something other than DOMS.
So do distinguish between DOMS and the kind of sharp pain that might indicate injury. And, of course, as always, make sure that your doctor approves of your workout program.
SOS Month 3
What to do so far:
In case you missed a day, the reminders below are clickable.
Get in shape for the best years ahead.
Eat chia…don’t pet it.
Exercise keeps you sharp.
Counteract urban or rural lifestyle risks.
Control what life expectancy factors you can.
Find a mate. Or live as if you’ve got one.
Activate your endorphins.
Wanna live? Exercise!
Drink your HOH ASAP.
Drink java.
Count calories to lose weight faster.
Count calories free online.
On the Ides I’d rather…
Watch funny flicks.
Lift weights to tone and firm.
Lift heavy or lift light.
Cut back on salt.
Remember the benefits of resistance training.
Weight/resistance train a few times per week.
Start over and fail better.
Learn proper technique to avoid weight training injury.
Be nice to your DOMS bod.
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