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DOMS-addiction. Is that possible?

Hi, my name is Jim and I'm a DOMS-aholic

Jim55
Jim55 g Jim Agate
5 Post(s)
5 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Lose Fat Date Joined: May 5, 2015
Posted

A little Friday fun...

My workout buddy and I lift 4 days a week. We push each other pretty hard and have a great time picking on each other. Where it gets weird, is that we are so competetive in who is more sore from yesterday's workout. We wear pain like a badge of honor. And I know, you don't have to be sore to make gainz. But that's not our world. HE WHO IS THE MOST SORE WINS! Simple as that, stupid as it sounds. We can go on for hours elaborating on the location and intensity of our soreness. I started working out to feel better and for the past 5 years if I wake up in the morning and a body part doesn't hurt I'm a little sad. So I have learned to embrace my addiction but only share with a select audience. My co-workers and friends think I'm an adiot for doing this to my self and I can't give a simple explanation. So for those who understand my madness, thanks for letting me share!

 

Jim

Jim55
Jim55 g Jim Agate
5 Post(s)
5 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Lose Fat Date Joined: May 5, 2015
Posted
Posted By: Jim55

A little Friday fun...

My workout buddy and I lift 4 days a week. We push each other pretty hard and have a great time picking on each other. Where it gets weird, is that we are so competetive in who is more sore from yesterday's workout. We wear pain like a badge of honor. And I know, you don't have to be sore to make gainz. But that's not our world. HE WHO IS THE MOST SORE WINS! Simple as that, stupid as it sounds. We can go on for hours elaborating on the location and intensity of our soreness. I started working out to feel better and for the past 5 years if I wake up in the morning and a body part doesn't hurt I'm a little sad. So I have learned to embrace my addiction but only share with a select audience. My co-workers and friends think I'm an adiot for doing this to my self and I can't give a simple explanation. So for those who understand my madness, thanks for letting me share!

 

Jim

Scott, I need spellcheck! Guess it proves the "idiot" not adiot spelling. And for correction #2 I will figre it out "myself"

jmboiardi
jmboiardi p John M Boiardi
2.6K Post(s)
2.6K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: October 10, 2013
Posted
Posted By: Jim55

A little Friday fun...

My workout buddy and I lift 4 days a week. We push each other pretty hard and have a great time picking on each other. Where it gets weird, is that we are so competetive in who is more sore from yesterday's workout. We wear pain like a badge of honor. And I know, you don't have to be sore to make gainz. But that's not our world. HE WHO IS THE MOST SORE WINS! Simple as that, stupid as it sounds. We can go on for hours elaborating on the location and intensity of our soreness. I started working out to feel better and for the past 5 years if I wake up in the morning and a body part doesn't hurt I'm a little sad. So I have learned to embrace my addiction but only share with a select audience. My co-workers and friends think I'm an adiot for doing this to my self and I can't give a simple explanation. So for those who understand my madness, thanks for letting me share!

 

Jim

Jim,

 

It is great to appreciate DOMS but it will not always be present. The human body is amazing at adaptation. Over time, it adapts to your workouts, volume, and load and does not get as sore anymore. This does not mean you are not breaking down and building new muscle or your workouts are ineffective but rather that your body has adapted. You need to be resting enough and eating properly for this to occur so it is a good thing.

 

DOMS will re-occur whenever you change your routine, exercises, volume, or load to something your body has not experienced before. It is OK to "chase DOMS" but don't make it your sole goal. This can potentially lead to overtraining and injury.

 

John

34 years of lifting and nutritional experience and resident "old man" :-) MS Athlete and past Super Hermanite since 2013.
ScottTousignant
ScottTousignant g Scott Tousignant
45 Post(s)
45 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: June 6, 2015
Posted

I agree with John @jmboiardi. As much as I enjoy that sore feeling (I have it in my hammies right now), it's NEVER a goal of mine and NEVER an indication of a good or effective workout. A great deal about how you feel DOMS depends on genentics and the number of nerve endings you have. I have some clients who I can push to the extreme and they are never sore, while others I barely work them and they can't get up up and down the stairs for days.

Some people chase DOMS... and if you are someone who doesn't have as many nerve endings and doesn't get sore, you can end up over training.

 

Again, I feel your joy with DOMS. I love it... but it's never a factor in my program design or drive for the next workout.

crood
crood a Chris P.
467 Post(s)
467 Post(s) Gender: Female Goal: Train for a sport Date Joined: August 8, 2014
Posted
Posted By: Jim55

Scott, I need spellcheck! Guess it proves the "idiot" not adiot spelling. And for correction #2 I will figre it out "myself"

(easily to fix your spell errors. When you are logged in there is a delete and an EDIT button on the top right of each of your posts :)) Just click it - edit and press update)

Admin + MS Athlete You will get nowhere, if you don't move :) - crood -
crood
crood a Chris P.
467 Post(s)
467 Post(s) Gender: Female Goal: Train for a sport Date Joined: August 8, 2014
Posted

...And now about the DOMs ;)


in the beginning when everything is new and training is exciting and you have all these bodily sensations going on - soreness is often an indicator for people that "i have done something", "i went the extramile to exhaustion", "i really pushed my limits" or "i tried something new"...

And that is good. It's a good motivator for the start..

 

BUT as both other answers by Scott and John already stated, it won't last forever.. so enjoy it aslong as it does :P

 

Especially when you stick with the training and make sure to possibly even work bodyparts twice a week, the soreness will fade away.

 

One of the reasons so many people have sore legs after leg day, is because they obliterate their legs once a week and then do nothing with them for 7 days. That way the muscle will be much stressed and often sore as it gets hit in the sleepy face so to say.

The moment i started training bodyparts 2 times a week and my body adjusted, i barely ever get sore anymore. Often weeks go by without any really recognizeable soreness, and that doesn't mean i had bad workouts or didn't give it my all =)

Some chase the holy "pump" as a sign for a workout, some do it with soreness - i think everything is legit as long as it is something that motivates you! just don't bash yourself should the soreness become less, as this isn't always a bad sign - i think we have established that by now !

 

 

Admin + MS Athlete You will get nowhere, if you don't move :) - crood -
Brolle81
Brolle81 g Stefan Willard
109 Post(s)
109 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: September 9, 2015
Posted

Leg DOMS are pretty consistent for me even after 10 months of weekly bashing. Sure sometimes they are not as bad (good) but everyt I really decide to give em hell it occurs next day and stays for atleast 3 days after the leg day. Chest and arms never gets sore anymore though :-( ..

crood
crood a Chris P.
467 Post(s)
467 Post(s) Gender: Female Goal: Train for a sport Date Joined: August 8, 2014
Posted
Posted By: Brolle81

Leg DOMS are pretty consistent for me even after 10 months of weekly bashing. Sure sometimes they are not as bad (good) but everyt I really decide to give em hell it occurs next day and stays for atleast 3 days after the leg day. Chest and arms never gets sore anymore though :-( ..

probably leg day once a week?

and legs and arms a bit more frequently or more exercises ?

 

That would explain it :)

 

or you just are in general easier sore in the legs. It stopped for me when i began working them 2 times a week.

Admin + MS Athlete You will get nowhere, if you don't move :) - crood -
Brolle81
Brolle81 g Stefan Willard
109 Post(s)
109 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: September 9, 2015
Posted
Posted By: crood

probably leg day once a week?

and legs and arms a bit more frequently or more exercises ?

 

That would explain it :)

 

or you just are in general easier sore in the legs. It stopped for me when i began working them 2 times a week.

I have two chest and back days which include deadlifts so a bit leg there. And two shoulders abs calves days and one pure leg and arm day.

 

On leg day I do 6-10 sets of squat 2-3 sets deep ATG with about 90-100kg 8-10 reps then I increase weight with 20 kg and continue but only to pararell stance rep intervall on those vary. Like last wednesday I did my 3 ATG sets at 90kg then i did one reps sets incresing 20kg ever rep up to 170kg. After that legcurls and leg kicks? 2-3 dropset starting at 70kg bashing out as many as possible then lowering 10 kg when i couldnt do more and kept on like that down to 20kg and then rest and repeat .

 

Chest on the other hand is never fewer then 20 sets combined with 6-10 reps. So not sure maybe my legs have hard time adapting to the cruel treatment. But it seems to work since they are the part which have grown the most during these 10 months.

crood
crood a Chris P.
467 Post(s)
467 Post(s) Gender: Female Goal: Train for a sport Date Joined: August 8, 2014
Posted
Posted By: Brolle81

I have two chest and back days which include deadlifts so a bit leg there. And two shoulders abs calves days and one pure leg and arm day.

 

On leg day I do 6-10 sets of squat 2-3 sets deep ATG with about 90-100kg 8-10 reps then I increase weight with 20 kg and continue but only to pararell stance rep intervall on those vary. Like last wednesday I did my 3 ATG sets at 90kg then i did one reps sets incresing 20kg ever rep up to 170kg. After that legcurls and leg kicks? 2-3 dropset starting at 70kg bashing out as many as possible then lowering 10 kg when i couldnt do more and kept on like that down to 20kg and then rest and repeat .

 

Chest on the other hand is never fewer then 20 sets combined with 6-10 reps. So not sure maybe my legs have hard time adapting to the cruel treatment. But it seems to work since they are the part which have grown the most during these 10 months.

Yeah it's the same for most peole with one extreme leg day. The 7 days inbetween kinda calm them down completely and then they get bashed and smacked into the ground.

It's one of the common reasons people have really sore legs after legdays hehe. And ,most people do upper body way more. Just like you seem to be doing too.

 

If the DOMs should annoy you you could try and add some light leg exercises on one of the other days. But really light!! Not to fatigue them but to "addresss" them and help them recover. Your leg soreness might vanish completely after a while. And it might help with them being more ready on leg day as well, increasing ther general performance =)

Admin + MS Athlete You will get nowhere, if you don't move :) - crood -
Brolle81
Brolle81 g Stefan Willard
109 Post(s)
109 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: September 9, 2015
Posted

I dont mind my DOMS I look at them as a receipt for a kick ass muscle beating. Reason for hitting upper body twice a week is that I haven't got as much devolpment as on legs yet. But perhaps if I did a 6 week smolow program and 6 week deadlift lats pull down program they would get better. I did the Russian squat routine for 6 weeks in May to June and that sure made a huge difference . 3 days squat diffrent weights and reps and sets . My 1 rm went up by 15 kg and my leg measurement increased too.

crood
crood a Chris P.
467 Post(s)
467 Post(s) Gender: Female Goal: Train for a sport Date Joined: August 8, 2014
Posted
Posted By: Brolle81

I dont mind my DOMS I look at them as a receipt for a kick ass muscle beating. Reason for hitting upper body twice a week is that I haven't got as much devolpment as on legs yet. But perhaps if I did a 6 week smolow program and 6 week deadlift lats pull down program they would get better. I did the Russian squat routine for 6 weeks in May to June and that sure made a huge difference . 3 days squat diffrent weights and reps and sets . My 1 rm went up by 15 kg and my leg measurement increased too.

you lucky person. My legs are such slowpokes. My upper body developes much easier than my legs. At least size related. But i don't care for huge size anyways.

For some reason my upper body adapts much better to hard stress and lots load and volume.

Probably a bit because of my slight spine disalignment it kind of inflicts everything in regards to lower back and legs / hips.

 

and yeah i betcha with squatting 3 days a week, for several weeks the soreness probably would become a bit less again ^^

 

The russian squat routine is great, and i am glad it worked out so nicely for you. They are always good changes to go to to get some developement going, or get out of a plateau ! An d a 15 Kg improvement is a good number for a few weeks !

 

 

 

Admin + MS Athlete You will get nowhere, if you don't move :) - crood -
Brolle81
Brolle81 g Stefan Willard
109 Post(s)
109 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: September 9, 2015
Posted
Posted By: crood

you lucky person. My legs are such slowpokes. My upper body developes much easier than my legs. At least size related. But i don't care for huge size anyways.

For some reason my upper body adapts much better to hard stress and lots load and volume.

Probably a bit because of my slight spine disalignment it kind of inflicts everything in regards to lower back and legs / hips.

 

and yeah i betcha with squatting 3 days a week, for several weeks the soreness probably would become a bit less again ^^

 

The russian squat routine is great, and i am glad it worked out so nicely for you. They are always good changes to go to to get some developement going, or get out of a plateau ! An d a 15 Kg improvement is a good number for a few weeks !

 

 

 

Yes legs seems to be otherwise slow. And have always been my weak point (chicken legs) but since January they have grown by 6-7 cm across the widest part and is beginning to shape up rather well. So know my next concern is my Lats and Traps. Even though I wouldn´t mind if my arms grew by 2-3 more cm so that I atleast have 40 cm arms. Stuck at 37 for now but only had 34-35 when I started and some of was fat for sure.

crood
crood a Chris P.
467 Post(s)
467 Post(s) Gender: Female Goal: Train for a sport Date Joined: August 8, 2014
Posted
Posted By: Brolle81

Yes legs seems to be otherwise slow. And have always been my weak point (chicken legs) but since January they have grown by 6-7 cm across the widest part and is beginning to shape up rather well. So know my next concern is my Lats and Traps. Even though I wouldn´t mind if my arms grew by 2-3 more cm so that I atleast have 40 cm arms. Stuck at 37 for now but only had 34-35 when I started and some of was fat for sure.

Hey don't worry.. the more shred you look the bigger they will appear to be visually :P

That's a great gain already!! Keep it going :)

Admin + MS Athlete You will get nowhere, if you don't move :) - crood -
Brolle81
Brolle81 g Stefan Willard
109 Post(s)
109 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: September 9, 2015
Posted

Ye low bodyfat sure makes a visual image of being bigger. A friend of mine almost a head shorter of me weights about 65kg but is i would guess 6-7% bodyfat and he looks massive. However I don´t wanna go as low as 6-7% I´d rather be around 9-10% since it must be easier to attain and sustain.

muscular strength
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