OnFitness Magazine - July/August 2015 - 69

Trainers' Forum
6 9
W W W. O N F I T N E S S M A G . C O M
|

WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE. We set a strength training
goal, and many times we're eager to achieve it. That
eagerness causes us to push too hard too fast, and
ultimately we're left with one good workout and days of
pain.
That pain is known as delayed onset muscle
soreness - or DOMS for short - and it's a condition
that many fitness enthusiasts wear with pride. One of
the problems with that badge of honor is that the
extreme soreness of DOMS can set trainees back for up
to one week.
According to a study conducted by the National
Institutes of Health, DOMS can affect athletic
performance by "causing a reduction in joint range of
motion, shock attenuation and peak torque," says the
report.

The lowdown on DOMS
Not to be confused with typical muscle soreness,
which occurs during or immediately following
strenuous exercise, DOMS can peak 24-72 hours after
activity. While many believe it's attributed to the
buildup of lactic acid in the blood, lactic acid is not to
blame.
DOMS is actually caused by microscopic damage to
muscle fibers involved in exercise. Most often, it results
from eccentric exercises, during which muscles
lengthen as they contract (think the lowering of a
weight or resistance in motions like biceps curls, squats,
running downhill or coming down from calf raises).

Symptoms include dull, aching pain in the affected
muscle or muscles and is often combined with
tenderness and stiffness. Pain is typically felt only when
the muscle or muscles are stretched, contracted or put
under pressure - not when at rest.
Training principles
Despite the extreme discomfort that comes with DOMS,
many believe that soreness is the sign of a great
workout that will produce great results. However, the
opposite may be true.
Weight workouts that are characterized by high
levels of intensity are usually associated with DOMS, but
this does not mean they lead to hypertrophy or stronger
muscles.
There is plenty of evidence that when progressive
overload is used (stressing the muscles with
progressively heavier resistance), that there will be
gradual, but definite, increases in size and strength.
In short, low levels of micro-trauma will have a
training effect, forcing the stressed muscles to adapt
and to gear up for the next round by becoming stronger
and bigger.
"If you're too sore the day after a workout, you will
not want to be active that day," says San Diego-based
fitness educator and personal trainer Pete McCall, MS,
CSCS. "The biggest risk is among newbies. If they are
too sore, they'll equate exercise with pain, which
could give them a reason to skip exercise, and that's
not good."

You're also not their
interior decorator, travel
advisor or beauty
consultant. If a client
begins asking for advice
in any area other than
fitness, exercise, weight
loss, nutrition or diet,
you need to make it
clear that this is beyond
your scope of expertise
- even if you believe
that you're the world's
best parenting expert or
relationship advisor.
One way to minimize the
possibility of this
occuring is to keep your
client in a continuous
state of fatigue with only
very brief periods of
rest. But there will be
times in which longer
periods of breathfulness
are inevitable.
The best way to keep a
client from asking your
advice about their
personal issues is to
have rules spelled out
right from the get-go -
on paper that your new
client must sign.

2 0 1 5

By Amanda Lawson

|

The rundown on delayed onset muscle soreness and how to prevent it

1

Who's got pain?

Though the personal
trainer needs to be
personable and friendly,
this does not involve
dipping into the realm of
relationship problems
that your client may
have or problems with
their kids or boss. You
are their personal trainer,
not their family therapist,
marriage counselor or
workplace counselor.

N O

The "personal" in
"personal trainer" refers
to the one-on-one,
customized training
plan, and only that, as
opposed to getting
personal like a friend.

1 6

--------------------

V O L

Personal self
vs. professional
self
http://WWW.ONFITNESSMAG.COM
OnFitness Magazine - July/August 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OnFitness Magazine - July/August 2015
