So this is day 2 of my 30 day squat challenge. I did my 50 squats yesterday. Haven’t gotten around to doing today’s 55 yet. I will be doing these in the evening. But I am feeling like my legs are on fire today. What I am experiencing, and those of you who are doing this with me are feeling is called DOMS. DOMS is a normal physiological response to increased exertion, and/or introduction of new or unfamiliar physical activity. Contrary to what was previously though, this does not happen from a buildup of lactic acid in the muscles. It is thought to happen due to damage done to the muscle membrane, which sets off an inflammatory response resulting in pain, and sometimes swelling. The pain peaks at 24-48 hours and usually completely resolves in about 5 days.
More important than what DOMS is, is how do we prevent it from happening and what do we do once we get it. Ironically, the answer is “more exercise”. The injury initiates changes to the muscles that reduce further damage to those muscles. The more amount of exercise, the more damage preventing changes in the muscles.
Most important rule of preventing DOMS is warm up. Even a 1 degree Celsius increase in muscle temperature before unfamiliar exercise dramatically reduces the severity and longevity of your DOMS. Cooling down after a workout is also useful.
Another important point to remember is to maintain proper form during exercise in order to avoid injury.Injuries can come in the form of knee damage, lower back strains, herniated discs, and muscle tears. Keep your legs shoulder width apart and move down as you as you can go without your knees moving ahead of your toes. See image for clarification.
Try to avoid taking pain killer when you experience these pains, unless they are severe, in which case, you may have overdone your work out. Check back to your instructions and make sure you are not over-exerting.
Some ideas for warm up include walking, stretching all your muscles, jumping jacks, push-ups, etc. Also, remember that doing any exercise with an increased heart rate will help you burn more calories and build more muscles.
Happy Squating!
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