DOMS: Push through, wait till not bad or wait till gone

Aaron_K123
Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey All-

So recently changed my lifting routinue from a circuit-training style with high volume minimal rest and lower weight to a more heavy-lift style of multiple sets of the same movement with rest between sets and lower volume with higher weight. Still doing it as a full-body routinue and the switch from minimal rest between moves to a full minute rest between sets doubled the length of my workout.

As a result, DOMS.

I used to lift three days a week. Here seems to be my options now:

1. Wait until DOMS goes away then do the same routine, eventually muscles will adapt and will no longer get DOMS then I can go back to 3 days a week.

2. Push through DOMS, continue three days a week and assume DOMS will go away eventually as body adapts

3. Change from a full-body to a split routinue, push/pull or upper lower or chest/back/shoulders, arms, legs. Assuming added intensity on the day makes up for only hitting muscle groups once a week.


Thoughts? Experience?

I'm a fairly novice lifter (i actually have done a fair amount of lifting in my life so I am familiar with the form and moves and options, I'm just out of shape) and I suppose given my physique (as seen in profile pictures) I would be considered under trained.

Replies

  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    I like a split routine personally because of this. I don't like having to wait extra time for recovery but I do believe recovery is very important.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    I've been doing a lot of full body stuff lately, so there's no luxury of split routines, I just wait until the DOMs aren't as bad, and go back to it. Hard to do in some cases, as sometimes I have to do consecutive days, but that's what aleve is for.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    #2 for sure. I always get really bad DOMS when I change up my routine. Just push through and things should subside in a couple weeks. If they'll cripplingly bad to the point where it hurts to walk I'd lower the volume slightly and slowly increase it as you adapt.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Thanks everyone. I think I may try a mix and push-through but with considerably lower volume while I am sore just to go through the motions and work the muscle but not push it too hard until I am able.

    I am running under the assumption that a split workout is really only necessary when you hit a more intermediate level of lifting where your lifting sufficient weight with sufficient intensity that your body is incapable of recovery in a two day period. I am assuming that at my current fitness level if I push myself with a full body routine given that I am a novice my body will be able to recover in that two day period between workouts over time. Do you think that is a valid assumption?

    To illustrate my strength level (as embarrassing as this is) I can 10-rep bench about 100 pounds, can 10-rep bicep curl with 25 pound dumbells, cannot yet do an unassisted pull-up but can do 10-rep row with 70 pounds. Tricep pull-down 10-rep at 35 pounds and 10-rep military press about 40 pounds. Squats I don't have a power rack I have a smith machine and I don't want to do squats with a smith so I do high rep bodyweight right now which I know is a poor substitute. Similarly haven't incorporated deadlifts because I work-out at home and lifting a heavy barbell and potentially dropping it on my floor is not an option. I realize this is a major gap in my routine, my plan is to eventually join a gym or get a proper power rack after getting myself in at least decent fighting form.

    I've weight lifted before. Found my arms made dramatic gains in strength (remember barbell curling 90 pounds) but my chest always had issues developing (45-plates on a bar is as high as I've ever gone). I remember thinking it very odd that I could bicep curl almost as much as I could bench.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    Stretching and a foam roller after. These two things have really limited my severe DOMS. I lift heavy every other day (full body--it works best with my crazy schedule at work) and do an hour of HIIT on my "off" days. I'm I'm experiencing soreness after cardio from a weight workout the day before, prior to stretching, I'll do some compound moves with light weight like squat to overhead press.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Pushing through should be fine, as long as you can tell:

    1. That it's "normal" DOMS and not "I injured myself"
    2. That it's not restricting your range of motion so much that you're at risk for injuring yourself

    If you were a brand-spanking-newbie, I might recommend being more cautious with your recovery, but since you said you've lifted in the past (and you seem to have a good amount of common sense), you should be fine just pushing through if you want.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Pushing through should be fine, as long as you can tell:

    1. That it's "normal" DOMS and not "I injured myself"
    2. That it's not restricting your range of motion so much that you're at risk for injuring yourself

    If you were a brand-spanking-newbie, I might recommend being more cautious with your recovery, but since you said you've lifted in the past (and you seem to have a good amount of common sense), you should be fine just pushing through if you want.

    Yeah that makes sense, thanks for the compliment as well.
  • Moyer22
    Moyer22 Posts: 20 Member
    I also say push through it, but be sensible and don't go hard when you're hurting. My roommate swears by a product he uses that "stops him from being sore the day after". I can't remember what it is, but to me it's a psychological thing. If I'm not sore the next day, I feel like I didn't work hard enough.
    Anyway, the real reason I wanted to reply was to recommend a light workout the day following heavy lifting days. Instead of completely resting, my favorite the day after going hard on my legs is to go for a light jog. It sucks at first because I'm sore but it really seems to help the DOMS. I feel less sore and tight after and I still got a little bit of a sweat in. Good luck with your plan!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,096 Member
    I find a way to push through it. Just don't compromise form.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Well, lets give this pushing through it a little test. I normally can do about 22 pushups with full range of motion...lets see how many I can do right now with DOMS in chest and shoulders. Will ignore the pain signals and just go to a poor form rep failure.

    Okay could do 20 with that last rep being a hard push but keeping good form. So yeah I guess I haven't lost range of motion or a considerable amount of strength, just hurts.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    start foam rolling before a work out, and even on rest days. a great way to work out the kinks. http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/06/13/trigger-point-release/


    some running on your days off from lifting is a good way to work through doms.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,354 Member
    I just keep lifting. I reduce the intensity, but taking a long break until the pain is gone just makes the pain from the next workout when you start back worse. I usually find that the pain diminishes as I workout.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    One thing I wonder about the soreness is the reason for it.

    1) Doing something different, muscles aren't used to that particular motion or weight and microtear leading to soreness

    2) Going from circuit training (where you go straight from exercise to exercise with no rest) which is cardio-like in that your heart rate stays elevated to instead lifting with sets and rest between sets (where heart rate spikes then drops). I wonder if the circuit training keeps the blood flow going and the body limber while resting between sets is what leads to some of the cramping and tearing. High bloodflow and staying warm clears the lactic acid buildup, muscles less likely to tear.

    3) Lifting heavy with lower reps causes the microtears versus higher rep where the intensity comes from cardio more than muscle.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    start foam rolling before a work out, and even on rest days. a great way to work out the kinks. http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/06/13/trigger-point-release/


    some running on your days off from lifting is a good way to work through doms.

    Yeah I alternate cardio with my lifting days. Mon - Wed - Fri lift, Tues - Thurs - Sat cardio, Sunday rest.

    Although admittedly this week I skipped my cardio and missed a lift day due to DOMS.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,354 Member
    One thing I wonder about the soreness is the reason for it.

    1) Doing something different, muscles aren't used to that particular motion or weight and microtear leading to soreness

    2) Going from circuit training (where you go straight from exercise to exercise with no rest) which is cardio-like in that your heart rate stays elevated to instead lifting with sets and rest between sets (where heart rate spikes then drops). I wonder if the circuit training keeps the blood flow going and the body limber while resting between sets is what leads to some of the cramping and tearing. High bloodflow and staying warm clears the lactic acid buildup, muscles less likely to tear.

    3) Lifting heavy with lower reps causes the microtears versus higher rep where the intensity comes from cardio more than muscle.

    If you are like me you lift heavier when not doing a circuit style program. When you lift heavier than you are used to, it will cause more stress on the muscle in a different way causing more DOMS. Having switched back and forth between the two if you lift heavy for a while you will find going back to a circuit style program will cause DOMS as well although in my experience not as bad as going the other way.

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