Why do people like DOMS?

rybo
rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
You see this fairly often, and I've never understood it. I've workout out in some fashion nearly my entire life, and I have never enjoys DOMS. That was probably one of the least favorite things about working out.
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Replies

  • fannyfrost
    fannyfrost Posts: 756 Member
    People who enjoy it are just happy that they got something out of the workout. It isn't the pain they enjoy (well unless they really like pain, but generally that is a small percentage of people), it is the feeling that the workout was effective.

    I don't enjoy DOMS, but if I felt like a muscle needed a workout and I get sore after, well I know I got it!
  • NicolaMichelle93
    NicolaMichelle93 Posts: 685 Member
    I enjoy DOMS :no_mouth: Maybe I'm just wierd!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I'm not too big on pain in general...I could do without the DOMs. Fortunately, keeping a regular workout schedule keeps those DOMs at bay...I'm often a little sore, but not full on DOMs...though I have been out of the gym now for a couple of weeks due to life happening...I hit it tonight, and I'm sure I'm going to have some nasty DOMs come tomorrow and Friday...I'm certainly not looking forward to that part.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Hate DOMS... I do not need to have DOMS to feel like I worked out...
  • prettygirlstorm1
    prettygirlstorm1 Posts: 721 Member
    Dumb question? What is DOMS?
  • ceckhardt369
    ceckhardt369 Posts: 115 Member
    edited October 2015
    vada44 wrote: »
    Dumb question? What is DOMS?

    Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. So basicly it's why you are after a workout and sometimes up to several days later!
  • ceckhardt369
    ceckhardt369 Posts: 115 Member
    I basically see DOMS as a price to pay at times. I don't always get it, but when I do I pop a couple of IBUProfen and drink lots of water to help it go away as quickly as possible.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    edited October 2015
    gia07 wrote: »
    Hate DOMS... I do not need to have DOMS to feel like I worked out...

    ^^ +1
    Thankfully, I've been doing this long enough that I rarely get it anymore. My husband just started a new lifting program and he's walking around like a 90 year old today. I don't get the sense that he's enjoying it at all, though I am enjoying sending him teasing texts; cause that's what loving wives do.

    twzy1l9u512g.jpg
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    fannyfrost wrote: »
    People who enjoy it are just happy that they got something out of the workout. It isn't the pain they enjoy (well unless they really like pain, but generally that is a small percentage of people), it is the feeling that the workout was effective.

    I don't enjoy DOMS, but if I felt like a muscle needed a workout and I get sore after, well I know I got it!

    This exactly for me. Particularly for those of us who've worked out regularly for years. When I do get any kind of muscle soreness it tells me I've targeted an area I must've been neglecting, so I see it as a good thing. Not the pain itself, but the accomplishment.
  • aarar
    aarar Posts: 684 Member
    I'm weird, I actually enjoy the pain. For me it's a reminder that I did something good for myself.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    edited October 2015
    I like feeling like I did something. Soreness is one thing, DOMS is another. When I have it, I'm happy that I did a tough new workout but it's not something I strive for.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    I don't "enjoy" it but when I get it, I know that I have worked hard
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    Based on what I see; I would speculate that unfortunately people think being sore all the time is a sign of progress in the gym or is somehow good.
  • GradatimFerociter
    GradatimFerociter Posts: 296 Member
    I like mild DOMS. I remember the first time I ever squatted at the gym. I considered fitting my toilet with suspension given my ability to lower myself with any reasonable degree of control for several days afterwards....
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    I hate DOMS. If I take a break from lifting I get hit hard like 36 hours later. I'll be sore immediately after and the next day, but it kicks into overdrive ~36 hours in. It is a good reason for me not to take the week off.

    With that said, I don't dread it so much that I'll refuse to lift. I just moan and cry to everyone within ear shot for a while :smiley:
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    Because some people think they only got a good workout if they're sore. I generally only get them if I'm starting a new program, or haven't worked out in awhile.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
    I don't get it either. I only get DOMS if I take a break from lifting. Once I get back into my routine, no more DOMS. DOMS aren't a sign that your workouts are more effective than if you don't get them, imo.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    Because some people think they only got a good workout if they're sore. I generally only get them if I'm starting a new program, or haven't worked out in awhile.

    Agreed.

    I only get them if I've lifted heavier the day before, done something new (first and only boxercise class KILLED me) or run much further/faster than usual.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    If you've been training for a while I think it's important to look at what you did in the prior day, or sometimes current day, to cause this soreness. For example, last week I started a new macro-cycle and I decided to add Romanian Deadlifts for moderate volume; I did not do these in my prior macro-cycle. The upper part of my hamstring complex and lower part of my glutes were mildly sore the next day. I was a little confused at first but realized that it was my first training session including RDL's and that was the most likely explanation for why I was a little sore. If I experience this same soreness in 3 or 4 weeks I'm going to wonder WTF I'm doing wrong.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    I liked the DOMS that I often had in my first few months of strength training. It wasn't painful, just sore, and it felt good in the same kind of way it feels good when you are absolutely exhausted after a hard workout but feel a sense of satisfaction along with the fatigue.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    edited October 2015
    I hate DOMS. When I get it, I'm too sore to put in a decent workout.

    I had it this past week. Ran 6 mi in minimalist shoes after ~1 mo running break. Lower legs started complaining around mile 4 and I should have stopped, but no. I'm such an idiot. I know better.

    For about 5 days after, my calves were so tight and swollen-feeling I could barely walk. Every time I sat or lay down they'd tighten up more and get worse. Foam rolling was no help at all. Body-weight squats did help and felt like my calf muscles were separating from the bone (fun). Needless to say, no running for me until the pain was gone. I was so tight I was afraid I'd pull something.

    ETA: Been so happy to be able to run this week and feel just fine the next day/s.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
    Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »
    Based on what I see; I would speculate that unfortunately people think being sore all the time is a sign of progress in the gym or is somehow good.

    That would suck being sore all the time.

    I feel like occasional DOMS indicates that I may be activating a lesser worked area. I can get a mild onset when changing up supersets.

    Right now I'm sitting on a mildly sore butt and it feels gooooood.
  • kcjchang
    kcjchang Posts: 709 Member
    Misinformed? At least those who chases DOMS, see http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/doms-muscle-growth.html/ & http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22876722.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    I typically don't get doms too much - a little light soreness or tightness the first week of a different rep scheme.

    Right now my doms have doms. It's actually kinda comical until I get warmed up and moving. But I dislike it. I don't need to be sore to know that my training is effective.
  • ohmscheeks
    ohmscheeks Posts: 840 Member
    Sounds freaky... Even the acronym is freaky...
  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 548 Member
    I was one of those people who thought pain = progress, so it seemed great when my stomach felt like it had met the wheels of a truck, or gone a few rounds with the inhabitants of a safari park. I like to see and be able to measure progress, and often thought it would be cool to see green status bars in real life, like they have in The Sims, lol
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,609 Member
    DOMS makes me feel just a bit sad ... that I've let myself go enough to feel DOMS when I start working out again.
  • lemmie177
    lemmie177 Posts: 479 Member
    NicolaMichelle93 wrote: »
    I enjoy DOMS :no_mouth: Maybe I'm just wierd!

    I like it too! Though I rarely get it these days. :(

    I like getting feedback from my body, plus it makes me more apt take care of it. When I get DOMS, I'll foam roll or use magnesium oil.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    I really only get DOMS after I've been slacking for too long or doing something new. I like it simply because it reminds me to feel my muscles and provides a focus for me to reconnect my brain to my body feels. But I don't think it's necessary or something to be cultivated.... just a side effect of something new or different. Last 2 days or so and then I'm DOMS free until I shift routines or something like that.
  • FrankWhite27330
    FrankWhite27330 Posts: 316 Member
    Soreness everywhere but legs is Ok. Legs kill

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