Soreness is something from which every bodybuilder, regardless of experience, suffers.  Beginner bodybuilders often find themselves on their back for a week following their first “all-out” day in the gym.  Intermediate bodybuilders, once they discover the “one body part per day” training methodology, will discover their bodies’ painful response to twenty-set chest days.  Advanced bodybuilders, despite their years of experience and often chemical assistance, will learn those chest/back or biceps/triceps combination days using 30+ sets leaves their central nervous system in shambles and their body parts aching.  Whatever your bodybuilding experience, every time you push your body to perform in new ways in the gym, you open yourself up on the potential for soreness.

Delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, is the type of soreness with which most bodybuilders are most familiar.  You might feel terrific at the conclusion of your workout.  Maybe you head home, have a protein shake, and head to bed.  No soreness here, thank you!  However, when you wake up in the morning, you have an uncomfortable stiffness in the trained area.  You stretch it out, and it goes away.  But toward the end of the day, it starts to feel stiffer and stiffer.  You go to sleep.  When you awaken the next morning, you should be feeling DOMS at its peak.  Occurring 36 to 48 hours from the conclusion of the workout – or two sleep cycles – DOMS results in a stiff and sore muscle group. 

Altering nutrition can have a huge effect upon body the intensity and length of DOMS pain in a particular muscle group.  A diet rich in protein gives the aching muscles the amino acids they crave to assist with repair.  Plenty of water will flush toxins out of the muscle group.  You’ll recall that each time you train, millions of tiny muscle fibers are torn.  It is their healing which leads to both soreness, as well as a thickening of the fibers as it repairs – or muscular growth.  Flushing the toxins from the area allows the trained group to repair much faster.  Orange juice is also popular with bodybuilders for its ability to destroy that lactic acid buildup.  Supplementation matters as well.  Vitamin C, E, and glutamine are all terrific nutrients for speeding up the body’s self-repair process.  Experiment with different supplements to see which help you deal with the soreness.  Remember that a healthy mix of adequate proteins, fats, and carbohydrates is required for the muscles to both function and heal properly.

Cardiovascular training can go a long way in breaking up the lactic acid and other toxin buildup.   Additionally, many bodybuilders find weekly or bi-weekly massages help tremendously in the healing process.  Learn more about different healing techniques.  Sleep is another factor that cannot be overlooked.  You should be getting a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night, with a nap of 30 to 60 minutes each day being desirable, if your schedule allows for it. If you’re getting enough sleep, eating enough nutrients, and proving your body with a few tricks for alleviating soreness, DOMS should remain a constant, yet manageable, part of the bodybuilding experience!

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