Biggest Muscle Soreness Myth - You try a weight-lifting routine fit for an NFL linebacker and then make sure to stretch all your muscles. You feel great. Until you wake up the next day and can’t get out of bed. What gives? Stretching before or after a workout doesn’t actually prevent or reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) like many people think, according to a review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Researchers looked at 12 recent studies that examined the effectiveness of pre- and post-exercise stretching in reducing DOMS, muscle stiffness that can occur several hours to days after exercise. When the researchers pooled the results, they found almost no difference in reported soreness between the participants that stretched and the ones who didn’t. The practice of stretching before and after exercise may have started in the 60s and 70s when people mistakenly thought muscle soreness was due to muscle spasm, says study author Nicholas Henschke, Ph.D. While that idea has since been discredited, stretching still remains. Nowadays, researchers believe DOMS is the result of tiny tears in your muscle fibers. These tears happen when your muscle has to create tension to control the rate at which it lengthens. and they cause muscle swelling and inflammation, says Dr. Henschke. The result: Soreness that’s left you waddling like a penguin. “When we exercise, we’re training our muscles to adapt to new loads and stresses,” he says. “If you do the same workout every day, your muscles will eventually adapt to resist the small tears that cause DOMS. It’s when you do exercises you’re not accustomed to that DOMS occurs.” It’s how you build muscle and improve your fitness. However, while a little bit of soreness is expected after a new or hard workout, it’s not the ultimate goal. And neither is breaking down your body so much that you can’t hit the gym—or sit down and stand up again—for several days. So if you want to make progress while decreasing your risk of DOMS, don’t go from zero to hero with a barbell. Instead, try upping the intensity or changing up your workouts slightly every couple weeks for maximum results without the pain. Not sure where to start? Use this guide to create your very own cutting-edge exercise routine. Unfortunately, if you’re reading this because you’ve already pushed your body too far, there’s not much you can do but wait it out, says Henschke. “The intensity of DOMS usually peaks about 48 hours after exercise, and then steadily decreases after that.” (Sorry, buddy. Looks like you’re stuck waddling for the next two days.) Don’t nix the stretching routine all together, though. Stretching has other benefits like reducing your risk of injuries and improving your overall athleticism—as long as you’re not doing the stretches you learned in high-school gym class. Launch Your Ultimate Fitness Career Shortages Bring Great Career Options. ★Full/PT Programs ★Watch Video★ Learn More--► infofiteducators/ Ultra Career Opportunities for Our Graduates ★ Learn More--► infofit.ca/about/fitness-jobs/ Get to Work ▪█───█▪
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 15:13:55 +0000
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