Fitness Fact or Fiction: No Pain, No Gain
Whether or not you’re an athlete or regular exerciser, you’ve probably heard of “no pain, no gain.” This idea implies that if you aren’t sore after your workout, you didn’t work hard enough. Let’s dig into this idea!
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Before I get into this any further, I want to clarify that we still don’t fully understand DOMS, so everything in this article is based on what’s been observed and hypothesized up to this point. With that being said, here’s what we (think) we know: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS, is the soreness that typically occurs 24-48 hours after exercise. It can include “tenderness or stiffness…, loss of range of motion, flexibility, force production and mobility.”
To quote an article in Byrdie that includes an interview with Dr. Bohdanna Zazulak DPT, a physical therapist, orthopedic certified specialist, and researcher at Yale School of Medicine: “‘DOMS especially occurs after a lot of eccentric exercise, or ‘negatives’ that stress the muscle as its lengthening,’ [Dr. Zazulak] says. For example, lowering your arm to a straight position after a bicep curl, or tensing your quads when running downhill.”
According to research, there doesn’t seem to be one clear reason as to why this happens, according to this article, theories include:
Inflammation
Connective tissue and muscle tissue damage
“The accumulation of histamine, potassium, and kinins”
An increase in circulating neutrophils
DOMS is a normal occurrence for both the beginner and the body-builder. It can happen to anyone at any stage, particularly after a tough workout. Even so, is it vital for a successful workout?
Does No Pain Really Mean No Gain?
No! This is fitness fiction. While we don’t necessarily know too much about delayed onset muscle soreness, research has shown that you don’t need to be sore to experience an increase in strength and muscle volume.
This study found similar muscle growth in two groups. One group had previous exercise experience and was less likely to experience soreness. The other group was all exercise novices who experienced self-reported perceived soreness. However, muscle volume and strength increases were identical in both groups.
While soreness can indicate your muscles adapting to new challenging movements, you can have a good workout without it! Bodies are pretty amazing and adapt to the work we throw at them.
What Else to Know
While we can conclude that “no pain no gain” isn’t true, these findings also don’t mean muscle soreness is bad. What’s more important to pay attention to is when you start feeling sore and how sore you are. There is such a thing as too much!
Here’s what we can learn from an article by L. Nicole Krum, DPT of the University of Maryland Medical Center:
If you’re so sore that you have trouble carrying out daily activities, or the soreness lasts more than 72 hours, the exercise was too much.
If you start feeling pain while you’re still exercising or immediately after, it’s not DOMS (or soreness caused by adaptions). It’s more likely there’s something wrong with the exercise you’re performing and you should stop immediately before serious damage occurs to your joints or muscles.
If you experience unbearable pain, severely swollen limbs, loss of range of motion, or dark-colored urine after exercise or activity that causes soreness, seek medical attention immediately.
If you listen to your body and don’t push yourself to extreme measures, it is unlikely you will experience the circumstances listed above. My personal philosophy is that it’s better to realize you can push yourself harder than to realize you’ve pushed yourself too hard.
Treating DOMS
According to this review analyzing multiple studies on various treatments of DOMs, methods like cryotherapy and stretching have little effect on alleviating soreness. Instead, exercise has been shown to provide a temporary reduction in soreness. Stay moving
Questions? Comments? Want me to craft a DOMS-inducing (or non-DOMS-inducing) workout for you? Contact me or schedule your consultation today!