Exercise assists the functionality of our bodies in our lives. Examples include being able to pick up heavier objects, giving us the ability to help our friends move things, or improving our balance. Regular exercise also helps to decrease the likelihood of injury such as strengthening ankle joints to avoid rolled ankles or improving back posture to avoid neck and back pain. An active exercise routine helps avoid the threat of becoming overweight, developing metabolic disease such as diabetes, or contracting cardiovascular disease. However, along with regular exercise comes another uncomfortable component. The feeling of soreness and tightness a day or two after completing an effective bout of exercise, more commonly known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
The feeling of DOMS can cause dull aches and pains. Intense cases of DOMS following a workout can impede the functions of everyday life. When we receive a feeling of soreness that makes us worse than before we worked out, it defeats the purpose of regular exercise all together. We have seen people deviate away from exercise because of the fear of being so sore they can’t function in the daily activities they enjoy. This is not what we want from regular exercise. Fortunately, the prolonged effect of DOMS is curable with a few mindful techniques added into your exercise routine.
Our personal training clients in Napa approach us with similar inquiries. A common question we here from our Napa gym goers is, “How can I make my soreness not last as long?” Some of the best ways to counteraction the deleterious effects of DOMS is a balanced diet, structured exercise routine, and plenty of rest. However, before we venture into these factors to manage DOMS, we ensure to ask a question about the lower hanging fruit of success that is commonly overlooked by most exercise participants in their current exercise routine: “Are you warming up?”
We include a portion in our Napa personal training clients exercise prescription called “movement prep.”, which is a fancy term for “longer warm up.” Our newer personal training clients say, “Yes, I warm up. I take a jog on the treadmill or spend a few minutes on the elliptical.” Or “I might do some jumping jacks or something.” While these techniques are better than just traveling to a local Napa gym and using the weight room machines unprepared, there are still critically important movements that are necessary to any warm up routines that need to be addressed. With a proper warm up, the time that DOMS is experienced will significantly decrease.
During our movement prep. routines, we execute with our Napa personal training clients; we ensure to perform a series of dynamic stretching movements. This dynamic stretching routine activates the muscles of the neck, shoulder, core and lower extremities. Performing a series of movements in commonly used areas of the body innervate and engage muscles, priming them for exercise. In addition to a dynamic stretching routine included in the movement prep., we also ensure to add isometric exercises, such as the simple plank, to engage the musculature of the core and increase blood flow to the center of the body’s working muscles. The more blood flow we have to the working muscles, the muscle will perform optimally and will be less likely to overstress from a workout that will lead to extreme muscle soreness. Similar to warming up the muscles of the core of the body, it’s equally important to warm up the muscles that cover the other main motors of the body including simple squatting movements, pushups, or dying bugs (a core exercise in which you lay on your back).
Performing a movement prep. routine as part of a warm up will prime the body for the impending workout session and decrease the intensity of DOMS following a bout of exercise. Additionally, left over DOMS from a previous exercise session will diminish after this movement prep. routine has been completed before the next session of exercise. Regular movement prep. decreases the intensity of future DOMS experiences because this regular routine of priming the body for exercise will eventually ingrain that a body in motion, stays in motion. We can’t just enter physical activity in an unprepared state.
We notice that our Napa personal training clients achieve better results by practicing movement prep. before their exercise routines. They explain to us that their bodies aren’t wrecked after the effective exercise prescriptions we guide them through each training session. Let’s be mindful of how we are preparing our bodies for exercise and keep them moving by implementing a proper movement prep. routine to decrease muscle soreness.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
