Health & Fitness Update

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On another note, I've figured something out about Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)I often experience. Instead of feeling sore the same day I work out, I tend to get muscle soreness and stiffness about 20-24 hours after a workout session. I was reading something the other day that indicated it was something beginners mostly experienced. Since I've been exercising regularly and weight-lifting for years, and extra-consistently since last September, I thought maybe there was something wrong with me.

But the more reading I've done, the more reassured I am, actually. It means that 1) I'm challenging myself and 2) my efforts at changing things up and keeping my muscles guessing are working. The article I've linked to above says that DOMS doesn't just happen to people who are new to exercising, but that it applies to any new *type* of activity you take up, because, obviously, you're using muscles in different ways or even challenging muscles that don't often get challenged. So, in a sense, that's a good sign. It means I'm mixing things, up, trying different kinds of exercises, and I'm working out my muscles in a variety of ways. This is a major component of avoiding plateaus when you're trying to make gains in muscle mass and/or strength.

DOMS can also be a sign that you're moving up to harder challenges a bit faster than your body is happy with. For example, say you do a workout Tuesday and Thursday that's about 50 percent of your maximum effort and the on Saturday, you go almost full out and do 90 percent of your maximum effort- you're more likely to experience DOMS after that Saturday workout than if you'd gradually worked your way up from 50 percent to 90 percent in 10 percent increments over two weeks. I know I'm sore today because I worked my ass off in my Total Body class yesterday. During the third set of push-ups, I was so wiped and a little dizzy that I felt like I was going to puke. I was being macho and I should have taken a break and walked out of the classroom to get a drink of water, then returned (I think I probably had completely burned off my breakfast and was getting a bit of low blood sugar action, too).

But, anyway, it's good to know that DOMS, for me, is mostly a good sign, and that if I want to dial it back a little, I just have to be careful about upping my weights and/or the intensity of my workouts in smaller increments.