We've all had that feeling when you take your first step out of bed after a workout and your legs feel so sore that you can barely walk and I'm guessing we've all had the moment where we expect to be in excruciating pain when we wake up after a workout, but instead feel absolutely fine, what's that all about?
Muscle soreness should be of no surprise to anyone if they've increased the intensity of their workout from what they're used to, or if they did something completely different and created a totally new stimulus, it's expected.
But what about during your regular routine, why are you sore after some workouts and not other?
Post workout soreness or DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) depends on a number of factors, but the soreness itself is due to micro tears in your muscles which occur when you put a stress on them. Generally you'll begin to feel sore 24 to 48 hours after a workout, that's the time it takes for your body to produce inflammation as a result of the tears, these micro tears must then be repaired to make your muscles bigger/stronger over time.
So, why do you feel sore after some workouts and not others?
1. Training Frequency
Your level of soreness depends partly on how frequently you train. When you first begin training, or if you're not used to training regularly, muscle soreness will be far worse than if you were training regularly, because you're muscle aren't used to the training stimulus you're providing. In summary, a lack of a activity in your routine leads to more micro tears when you eventually do it, your muscles will get used to the new activity over time and won't tear as much.
2. The types of exercises you’re doing
The micro tears in your muscles happen whether you do a long run or a heavy squat, but the severity of soreness you experience because of these tears will come down to the specific type of exercise you’re doing. *Eccentric movements for example have been shown to cause more muscle damage and as a result more inflammation, which leads to more muscle soreness
*An eccentric movement is the controlled lengthening of the muscle under tension or, put simply it’s the “lowering down” portion of a lift. Concentric movements, on the other hand, do less damage to your muscles and therefore leave you feeling less sore. Concentric movements are when a muscle shortens. For example, the “up” motion of a bicep curl.
3. Hormones
Estrogen helps to protect your muscles, so women, who have higher levels of estrogen, tend to experience less muscle soreness than men do. Estrogen has been shown to play a significant role in stimulating muscle repair and the regenerative process. So if you're a male, you should expect to be a bit more sore from the same (or similar) workout as your female counterparts.
What should you do if you’re sore after a workout?
Don't just sit yourself on the sofa, feeling sorry for yourself, refusing to move until the pain goes away. This will have a negative impact on soreness because you’re not getting any blood flowing to your muscles to help them recover. Instead opt for some active recovery—like cycling, swimming, yoga, or even walking, this will help repair tissue and alleviate soreness. A post workout massage or foam rolling can also help to relieve sore muscles too, as well as ensuring you're properly hydrated and consuming adequate protein to support recovery.
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