Why do some muscles become sore immediately after a workout, while other muscles become sore after a couple of hours or the next morning?
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Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) are just an inflammatory response to tissue use without the capabilities to remove the inflammation before it develops. Inflammation in general is actually not a positive thing (such as rolling your ankle) as it is the body’s natural defense system ensuring that we don’t use that tissue or joint etc anymore to prevent further “injury” to it.
Strength and conditioning is training the body’s various exercise systems to be better at whatever their roles are, be it hypertrophy/muscle size, aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, fat loss, etc. As the training impetus continues on, the physiological systems responsible for each of these pathways improve by increasing the various enzymes or transport proteins etc needed to function efficiently and by extension the body calls for less and less “inflammation” (DOMS) to take place.
DOMS are not indicative of “a good workout” like is commonly perceived. A new program taxing your musculature in a different way than previously experienced will invite inflammation, especially if said musculature is weak and focused during the early training days. Think glute muscles in today’s society where we spend so much time in a stretched and weakened glute state, so when these muscles are focused directly in a program you’ll have more “soreness” early on as this tissue isn’t used to being used purposefully. Compare this to a bicep workout, a muscle we use pretty regularly and purposefully in normal activities of daily living, and you’ll have less DOMS as a principle after the workout.
Most DOMS don’t set it until 24-72 hours later though. As a strength coach, I don’t think I’ve ever had myself or any clients report DOMS within the same day of a training impetus. You’ll have varying degrees of *weakness* for the musculature for the following 10-12 hours after a lift, but this is just due to the tissue being exhausted during training.
I think I answered the query? Ping back if I didn’t. I didn’t intend on motormouthing so much on mobile so it feels scatterbrained but we’ll see lol. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
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