So, the always dreaded first week of returning back to the gym is over. I have to say I am very, very sore. In fact, I could hardly walk on Thursday. Good thing I have a desk job. Although, that seemed to make it worse. I would sit for 2-3 hours and when I got up to take a step nearly fell flat on my face.

Obviously, I expected this. I knew I was overdoing it by running everyday and doing squats, etc. But, that is what I do. I usually give it the first week, suffer through the pain and continue on with my routine. I should probably look at trying to ease into a program (something I highly recommend for all of you) but, I don’t so I have to deal with it.

I have in the past tried to ease into programs and what I experienced was some pain anyway, so what’s the sense? Now it is just about how uncomfortable you can stand it. I try to push it so that I get it all over with in the first week and don’t need to worry about soreness anymore.

What is this soreness? Well, it is something called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).

Delayed onset muscle soreness is thought to be a result of microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers. The amount of tearing (and soreness) depends on how hard and how long you exercise and what type of exercise you do. Any movement you aren’t used to can lead to DOMS, but eccentric muscle contractions (movements that cause muscle to forcefully contract while it lengthens) seem to cause the most soreness.

So info from About.com on the subject:

There is no one simple way to treat delayed onset muscle soreness. In fact, there has been an ongoing debate about both the cause and treatment of DOMS. In the past, gentle stretching was one of the recommended ways to reduce exercise related muscle soreness, but a study by Australian researchers published in 2007 found that stretching is not effective in avoiding muscle soreness.

So does anything work to reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness? Nothing is proven effective, but some people have found the following advice helpful, but it’s best for an individual to try a few things to see what works for them. Ultimately, best advice for treating DOMS is to prevent it in the first place.

Here are some tips for dealing with soreness after exercise:

• Wait. Soreness will go away in 3 to 7 days with no special treatment.
• Try an Ice Bath or Contrast Water Bath. Although no clear evidence proves they are effective, many pro athletes use them and claim they work to reduce soreness.
• Use active recovery techniques. This strategy does have some support in the research. Perform some easy low-impact aerobic exercise to increase blood flow. This may help diminish muscle soreness.
• Use the RICE method of treating injuries.
• Although research doesn’t find gentle stretching reduces soreness, some people find it simply feels good.
• Gently massage the affected muscles. Some research has found that massage was effective in alleviating DOMS by about 30% and reducing swelling, but it had no effects on muscle function.
• Try using a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication (aspirin or ibuprofen) to reduce the soreness temporarily, though they won’t actually speed healing.
• There is some evidence that performing Yoga may reduce DOMS.
• Avoid any vigorous activity that increases pain.
• Allow the soreness to subside thoroughly before performing any vigorous exercise.
• Don’t forget to warm up completely before your next exercise session. There is some research that supports that a warm-up performed immediately prior to unaccustomed eccentric exercise produces small reductions in delayed-onset muscle soreness (but cool-down performed after exercise does not).
• ** If your pain persists longer than about 7 days or increases despite these measures, consult your physician.
• Learn something from the experience! Use prevention first.

The last one I should really take note of. I didn’t do anywhere enough stretching in my warm-up and warm-down. Looking forward to week two.

Have you suffered from DOMS? Leave us a message about your experience.

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