DOMS and leg days

longtimeterp

Okay so whenever i have a leg day, i get stiffness/pain/DOMS so bad i can barely walk for the next couple days. I'm not new to lifitng by any means, and it seems i only get DOMS this severe in my legs, and it happens after every leg day. Any thoughts on why my legs seem soooo susceptible to DOMS and what i might be able to do to prevent it. I've tried reducing weight, fewer sets, still always happens. FRUSTRATING!

grimendale

Are you stretching after you lift? If not, that could help.

allie_00p

Are you stretching enough after your workout? If stretching isn't enough, maybe look into foam rolling.

BenjaminMFP88

Okay so whenever i have a leg day, i get stiffness/pain/DOMS so bad i can barely walk for the next couple days. I'm not new to lifitng by any means, and it seems i only get DOMS this severe in my legs, and it happens after every leg day. Any thoughts on why my legs seem soooo susceptible to DOMS and what i might be able to do to prevent it. I've tried reducing weight, fewer sets, still always happens. FRUSTRATING!

Do you stretch before and after your workouts? For working out, are your leg routines a different volume then your other muscle groups?

ashleydawndill

You need to reduce the weight even more, then. If your muscles are that sore every time then the weight you're using is too heavy. You should never experience that much pain after any workout. Also, make sure you stretch a lot before/after.

erickirb

How long have you been on your current routine?

If it has been for quite awhile, it may have to do with your diet, and hydration levels. How big is your deficit, do you hit your protein macro and your micros?

If the soreness in your tendons or the muscles. If you are going too heavy it might put too much pressure on the tendons and ligaments, they are weaker and slower to strength than your muscles, which is way many beginner programs have you start with the empty bar and add weight every workout

pinktoesjb

streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch. Then stretch some more, maybe a cold shower/bath if you have the facility.

And warm up.

But mostly, stretch.

kates232

Up your water intake, and make sure you're doing a proper warm-up and cool-down, with stretching afterward. Try a light jog for 10-15min before you lift, and 10min of walking after. We tend to overlook the importance of this!

skullshank

warm up, foam roll, stretch is about all i do to try to reduce doms.

leg day doms is always the worst for me too.

are you taking any BCAAs? ive read that those can help reduce doms as well.

gschaadt

+1 on the foam rollers. Finish with rolling out the quads and IT bands - helps a lot!

DannehBoyy

Maybe you could try some cod liver oil tablets if it's your joints that are stiff?

ThePhoenixIsRising

I add glutamine before and after leg day. This helps me get enough protein in for quick recovery.

Kirk_R

Try lifting more frequently. If you've only got one leg day per week try two. If you've got two now try three.

shadyj26

Stretching my legs out after a leg workout always helped me. Also, I like to soak in a tube of hot water to help loosen them back up.

Leadfoot_Lewis

For me personally stretching and light cardio the day after to get the blood/nutrients/oxygen flowing does wonders for my DOMS.

chickeyumass

I do legs every Wednesday morning and I get pain two days later only from lunges under the smith machine (glutes yea!) and inner thigh workouts. I think these muscles remain sore because they are not stretched during my spin classes and fitness walk outings. I've heard that potassium may help. Add a banana to your protein shake?

BenjaminMFP88

Haha, looks like everyone has a different approach to DOMS... Here's a checklist for you to simplify your gym needs

1: Take Fish Oil
2: Drink more
3: Stretch
4: Foam Roller
5: Oh Gawd you're lifting too heavy
6: Adjust your routine?
7: Take supplements (glutimate)
8: MOAR PROTEIN
9: STREEEEEETCH
10: Lift more
11: Lift less

etc etc etc

longtimeterp

It's the muscles, the joints are okay (with the exception of my surgery knee, but i'm used to that hurting). uggghhhh i HATE stretching and rolling, was hoping for different answers! HATE HATE HATE my roller, it's so painful! Def don't wanna cut back the weights anymore though, was doing 1000 on the leg press at the beginning of the year and now i'm sticking to 500, but no lower.

dbmata

Okay so whenever i have a leg day, i get stiffness/pain/DOMS so bad i can barely walk for the next couple days. I'm not new to lifitng by any means, and it seems i only get DOMS this severe in my legs, and it happens after every leg day. Any thoughts on why my legs seem soooo susceptible to DOMS and what i might be able to do to prevent it. I've tried reducing weight, fewer sets, still always happens. FRUSTRATING!

Something that's helped me after a really rough leg day, and helping bring up that conditioning.

Swimming and yoga. Day after I'll get a good swim in, or a yoga session.

BenjaminMFP88

It's the muscles, the joints are okay (with the exception of my surgery knee, but i'm used to that hurting). uggghhhh i HATE stretching and rolling, was hoping for different answers! HATE HATE HATE my roller, it's so painful! Def don't wanna cut back the weights anymore though, was doing 1000 on the leg press at the beginning of the year and now i'm sticking to 500, but no lower.

There's nothing wrong with DOMS, it's a build up of lactic acid. Lactic acid is easiest removed by any of the following or combination of but not limited to stretching and it's various forms, certain supplements, proper hydration, steam/sauna, brief low intensity cardio following the workout. The real question is if you like your workout, which do you hate more, stretching or DOMS?

ThePhoenixIsRising

It's the muscles, the joints are okay (with the exception of my surgery knee, but i'm used to that hurting). uggghhhh i HATE stretching and rolling, was hoping for different answers! HATE HATE HATE my roller, it's so painful! Def don't wanna cut back the weights anymore though, was doing 1000 on the leg press at the beginning of the year and now i'm sticking to 500, but no lower.

There's nothing wrong with DOMS, it's a build up of lactic acid. Lactic acid is easiest removed by any of the following or combination of but not limited to stretching and it's various forms, certain supplements, proper hydration, steam/sauna, brief low intensity cardio following the workout. The real question is if you like your workout, which do you hate more, stretching or DOMS?

This is no longer thought to be correct.

BenjaminMFP88

It's the muscles, the joints are okay (with the exception of my surgery knee, but i'm used to that hurting). uggghhhh i HATE stretching and rolling, was hoping for different answers! HATE HATE HATE my roller, it's so painful! Def don't wanna cut back the weights anymore though, was doing 1000 on the leg press at the beginning of the year and now i'm sticking to 500, but no lower.

There's nothing wrong with DOMS, it's a build up of lactic acid. Lactic acid is easiest removed by any of the following or combination of but not limited to stretching and it's various forms, certain supplements, proper hydration, steam/sauna, brief low intensity cardio following the workout. The real question is if you like your workout, which do you hate more, stretching or DOMS?

This is no longer thought to be correct.

Nice, been a few years since I looked into the specifics and you're right, lactic acid isn't the supposed culprit although the remedy remains the same. Last time I looked into it acid was all the rage

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/sore-muscles-dont-stop-exercising?page=2

mathmatt

If you hate stretching, I'll assume you'd hate an ice bath even more. What do you do after you work out (sit in the car and drive to home/work, sit at home/work)? You could try swimming, low resistance biking or walking around for a little bit. Avoid not using your legs for long periods of time. Do things to increase the blood flow to your legs to help speed up the repair the damaged tissue.

Cherimoose

Replace "leg day" with a full body workout done every 2-3 days. Problem solved.

skeo

Before and after for about 15 min each time, I make sure to foam roll. :smooched: it hurts so good!

Sam_I_Am77

Correct, from what I've reading in my physiology class is that lactic acid is not the culprit of DOMS. Here's an intro to the discussion from our text.

If lactate is not the cause of
delayed-onset muscle soreness, what
is the cause? Growing evidence indi-
cates that this type of muscle soreness
originates from microscopic injury to
muscle fibers. This kind of injury
results in a slow cascade of biochemi-
cal events leading to inflammation
and edema within the injured mus-
cles. Because these events are slow to
develop, the resulting pain generally
doesn’t appear until 24 to 48 hours
after exercise. Details of the events
leading to delayed-onset muscle sore-
ness are discussed in chapter 21.

Since we're talking about injury or damage it's important to focus on recovery. What are some things that help recovery?

- Nutrition: Appropriate caloric consumption for your goals and activity, adequate protein included. Approximately 1.6kg's to 2kg's per kg of bodyweight.

- Sleep: Get 7 to 8 hours of good sleep. I've personally found the supplement ZMA to really help my sleep and I can tell a difference between when I do and don't take it. I'm not big on supplements either, but this is one I like.

- Flexibility: Getting some good stretching and self-myofacial-release in makes a big difference in managing your pain. Personally, I can tell when I get lazy in stretching because my lower back gets sore as hell.

- Training frequency: What is it? Perhaps it needs to be less? Recovery from exercise is essential if you want to exercise long-term. I think on MFP the most common goal is weight-loss and most users seem to think they need to exercise everyday to lose weight and that's just not the case.

Cortelli

I'll just leave this here:

dbmata

lol.

I just throw myself down the stairs to the basement after leg days.

ILuvCupcakesNLifting87

Not to sound like a b*tch (Ok maybe I am) but I think you need to toughen up! Stretch, drink lots of water the day before & leading up to, stretch, consume adequate protein, invest in a foam roller & some epsom salts for soaking & you'll be good. Today is day 2 after leg day for me & I can barely walk without discomfort. Hitting the gym for arms, shoulders & cardio tonight. No pain no gain. Just sayin'

giggitygoo

Do you do any cardio after leg day?

The only thing that keeps me from getting insane doms is making sure I finish a bottle of water while walking on the treadmill after my leg day.

I hate stretching, but it helps.

katysmelly

Stretching doesn't help DOMS:

http://www.bmj.com/content/325/7362/468


Massage does seem to help (which is what I guess the foam roller does.)

I think light exercise the next day does help - like someone said above about walking on a treadmill.