I want the pain back! :E

DAEDULUS

During the summer i was doing some hard fitness training with my team,but since then i havent been doing the training.Point is,after the summer training every day i would wake up with killer pains after the training all over,especially in abs.
Since then,ive been doing some stuff at home(crunches ,bicycle kick) and keep doing reps until i cant anymore,i get a gradual pain that fades after about 20mins but the i dont get that pain the next morning anymore
The reason i liked it was because it was a sure sign that i had stressed my body enough and was a kinda nice knowing that when it healed,it would only grow back stronger.
Any reasons for this? Was the pain only because I was too inactive before and my body wasnt used do doing anything like it or is just im not working hard enough now?

Thanks

pwd

As I understand it, the pain is primarily caused by the buildup of lactic acid in your muscles. You do become better at processing this if you exercise. Also cardiovascular activity and stretching after a workout can help to decrease it.
The pain is not a direct indication of the effectivenmes sof your workout regime anyway.
You may be better off increasing the resistance of your exercises anyway, rather than doing loads and loads of reps.

logic1

DAEDULUS wrote:

The reason i liked it was because it was a sure sign that i had stressed my body enough and was a kinda nice knowing that when it healed,it would only grow back stronger.

DOMs in no way signifies that you have stressed your body in a beneficial objective manner and in no way signifies muscle breakdown or buildup.

pwd wrote:

As I understand it, the pain is primarily caused by the buildup of lactic acid in your muscles.

This again is totally incorrect. Lactic acid buildup does not cause DOMs.

As you train more often many people find they get DOMs less. For some their level of DOMs 24 to 48 hours post workout remains the same throughout their training life.

The full reasons for it are unknown but there are several theories.

You should never rely on it as an indicator of workout intensity or benefit.

.logic.

Jak

DOMS as pointed out are generally brought on when either a previously inactive person becomes active or for an active person, when they engage in an activity they had previously not been involved with.

It seems to follow the idea of people 'working muscles they didn't know they had'. It fades in time. I can feel a workout the odd time the next day, if i stretch, but nothing like the DOMS of starting something entirely new.

Transform

pwd wrote:

As I understand it, the pain is primarily caused by the buildup of lactic acid in your muscles.

Well done guys on nipping that myth in the bud!!

It is the micro tears in the muscle through weight training that cause the pain the next day and it is through this action that the muscles will grow stronger. You possibly were doing some sort of throw downs (lying on your back with a partner pushing your extended legs towards the floor) or were new to it and had that reaction (you will get the same reaction if you threw a frisby around as that would possibly be a new activity).

Do new exercises and as stated use a resistance/weight that is more challenging.

We should do a post on this lactic acid myth as i have lots to say about it (as i have done previously) and its unnecessary effects unless you want to be a body builder.

Jak

I'm away this weekend, but if people want to collaborate on a 'Myth' post then I'm happy to help with stickying it, contributing etc.

Just try to keep a simple format and bear in mind - not everybody will share the same views on each myth.

JAK.