Pain after exercise
1. Pain after exercise
1.1. What is pain after exercise?
1.2. Why does pain occur after exercise?
1.3. Is pain after exercise indicative of the effectiveness of the program?
1.4. How to avoid pain after exercise?
1.5. How to differentiate between ordinary pain.
and pathological pain?
1.6. Summary.
Many trainees believe in the saying "no pain no gain" or "No pain No gain", while it is a stimulating saying and pushes for patience and development, its consequences are very serious if applied to bodybuilding and fitness.
In this article we will demolish this saying and delve deeper into the science behind the pain after exercise.
Pain after exercise.
What is pain after exercise?
Exercise muscle pain is known as late muscle pain (DOMS). It usually takes 24-48 hours for you to feel it, lasting 24-72 hours. If the pain lasts longer than 5 days it can be a sign of muscle damage requiring medical consultation.
Why does pain occur after exercise?
A common misconception is that lactic acid is the main cause of delayed muscle pain, but research on runners showed that there was no delayed muscle pain after high intensity exercises performed on level ground (much lactic acid), while the same study showed noticeable late muscle pain after trainees ran down a slope with low intensity (little lactic acid).
The reason running on the slope causes muscle pain is that it requires a great deal of prolongation (negative movement) to resist the gravity clouds caused by running on the slope.
For example, the movement that comes after the reduction of bypass in the curl exercise is called negative movement, That is, when the dumbbell comes down from the top of your shoulder down, you perform the elongation part of the workout, Contrary to what many think is an insignificant part, in fact, If you use 100 muscle fibers to lift weight during the contraction phase It will use 80 fibres to reduce it during the prolongation phase, which doubles the muscle damage and causes more delayed pain.
Is pain after exercise indicative of the effectiveness of the program?
No, getting late pain in your program on an ongoing basis is proof of something wrong and not an advantage. The body has the ability to adapt to the training effort applied, and continuing to feel pain is proof that you are not applying because your body has not yet adapted to the training program.
You will be more susceptible to delayed pain after exercise in these cases:
- Start training or return to training after a long break.
- Change the program continuously.
- Raise the intensity and intensity of exercise.
So what is the common point of all these cases? Yes, it is the body's lack of adaptation to the training effort, so the pain after exercise is more of a disadvantage than an advantage.
You might be wondering now, isn't it good not to leave the body to adapt to the training program? And I'll tell you that you're right, but to what extent?
It is good to raise the training volume to push your muscles towards continuous development, but if you keep pushing forward continuously without leaving an opportunity for your muscles to adapt to new weights you slow down your development and not the other way around, the muscle cannot develop and is not used to the previous level yet.
When depriving your muscles of coping you have two possibilities, the first is to lose fast progress and the second is to be overwhelmed and lose motivation or even injury.
How to avoid pain after exercise?
One of the best ways to reduce late pain is to graduate. When you start training, you don't push too hard, but create a plan in which you constantly increase intensity until you reach the level that satisfies you. The same applies to people returning to training after interruption.
As for continuing trainees, by continuing and modifying one training program only if required, you will only experience delayed pain when you raise the training volume rather than permanently.
In case of late pain, apply these effective tips in reducing pain and accelerating muscle recovery:
- Eat enough proteins.
- ake some rest (enough and high quality sleep, reduced physical activities)
- Take a cosy bathroom or do a massage session.
How to differentiate between ordinary pain and pathological pain?
If the pain is accompanied by dark urine, this is a serious sign of severe muscle demolition as a result of harsh training, as it can cause kidney damage.
If the pain starts during or immediately after exercise, it is not normal. The pain that occurs during exercise is a sign of a problem with exercise. This type of pain should be seen as a signal from your body to stop activity before serious joint or muscle damage occurs.
Pain that lasts for more than 5 days is unusual and you should think about the mistakes you made in advance and avoid them in the future, in addition, pain that prevents you from engaging in your normal activities normally and causes you a lot of discomfort to pay attention to.
Summary
Pain after exercise is good and bad at the same time!
While it is an indicator of your evolution through your ability to continuously raise the training volume, it may also be an indicator of an error, and the seriousness of the error is heightened depending on the symptoms.
In the end, it depends on your ability to listen to your body, realize when the pain is good and when it is bad