Is it true that if I have muscle pain after exercise, I did a good workout? Not really: that’s why

Many believe that the results of a good workout depend on the muscular pain arising after exercise. I’m not bad, so I haven’t practiced a typical phrase enough. But not so. Contrary to what many believe pain andsoreness in the hours following physical activity are not proof of having done a good training. On the contrary. The delayed onset muscle painknown as Doms (acronym for Delayed onset muscle soreness) something that should be avoided for the most part: in fact the result of micro-injuries that risk becoming real injuries exaggerating with the activity that produces them.

Eccentric exercise

Generally thedelayed soreness it occurs after a particularly strenuous exercise or doing an activity you are not used to. It can happen after any type of exercise, albeit more common after eccentric movements
those in which the muscle works in the stretch phase. Eccentric work the negative phase of muscle contraction, when the muscle generates force by stretching it explains Gianfranco Beltrami, vice president of the Italian Sports Medical Federation, who gives an example: When we have the shopping bag in hand and we place it on the ground, resisting it so that it does not drag us to the ground, we are doing an eccentric job. Walking down stairs or running downhill are typical activities. There is no discipline that develops only eccentric activity, but there are individual movements of various sports activities.

Soreness

The development of the Doms has a peak between 24 and 48 hours after exercisedepending on the volume and intensity of sporting activity and in general they are more susceptible to soreness the smaller muscles of the upper limbs (like biceps and shoulders) because they would be less accustomed to eccentric exercise. The pain can last up to a week.

The mechanism

But why does the Doms arise? The rather complex mechanism and not entirely understood. We know that the development of this muscle soreness – Beltrami summarizes – the consequence of micro-injuries induced by excessive effort that cause damage to the membrane of muscle cells and stimulate an inflammatory response, which in turn accelerates the release of waste products of the metabolism, with a production of free radicals. When the inflammation reaches the nerves, the typical sensation of pain occurs. It is a long process, so the pain is not immediate but delayed onset. Some degree of exercise-induced muscle damage, particularly eccentric damage, develops for more strength and muscle mass. And this is the reason why bodybuilders try to make muscles work in the stretching phase: cell damage favors muscle hypertrophy, says Beltrami.

Regularity

Regular weight training, focused on eccentric exercises such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, nevertheless seems to reduce the detrimental effect of exercise on muscles: it means that those who exercise regularly do not experience soreness as often. delayed onset muscle. The frequency and severity of Doms varies from person to person, although older adults appear to be more susceptible to both exercise-induced muscle damage and Doms, possibly due to their muscles’ lesser ability to recover after strenuous exercise. Research has also shown that people with a certain genetic makeup are more able to recover from eccentric exercise than others who have followed the exact same workout.

Lactic acid

Beware, feeling fatigued after a game of soccer or tennis or at the end of a completely normal spinning lesson. The feeling of tiredness and physical pain following exercise are not the Doms, but an accumulation of lactic acid, which is metabolized within a short time from the end of the activity. It is a transient soreness, more typical of anaerobic training with weights and less frequent with resistance training, concludes Beltrami. It is clear that when starting a new, particularly intense and long training program, it will be difficult to escape delayed muscle soreness. If by training regularly you do not feel sore after hours or days it does not mean that the training is not served: most likely the muscles are regenerating after the damage suffered by the previous (and aching) sessions.

The alternative method of building muscles: progressive overload

To keep fit and strength training, instead of getting in pain after training, better to choose progressive overload: means gradually increasing the amount of exercise, such as doing extra reps or adding weight. a correct principle that applies when the athlete manages to do a couple of repetitions more than those foreseen in the series. For example, if the card plans to lift 10 kilos 10 times and the athlete manages to do it 12, at that point he can increase the weight from 2 to 10% explains Gianfranco Beltrami. It is important to gradually increase the loads to avoid injuries, also because it has been shown that in this way there is a better response from the neuro-muscular system: this is an alternative way of building muscle and strength, reducing the frequency of the Doms (and it only takes a few weeks to see results).