Building Muscle... No Pain, No Gain?

We have been accused of interfering with our Warrior's ability to go up and down stairs, of making it necessary to choose the handicap bathroom stall for need of a handrail, and of interfering with other activities that we won't mention in the blog.  But all joking aside, is post-workout muscle soreness, also know as delayed onset muscle soreness ( DOMS) necessary to build muscle and strength?  The answer, as always, is not a straight forward yes or no.

DOMS, which is usually at its strongest 24 to 72 hours after activity, is caused when exercise is intense enough to cause damage to the muscle components.  Our bodies respond to this damage with inflammation and we feel pain and stiffness.  All of that can sound very detrimental but inflammation is how the body heals the muscle tissue and promotes muscle growth.

As a part of the muscle repair process our bodies release inflammatory chemicals called cytokines.  The presence of these chemicals in muscle tissue stimulates the free nerve endings in the area which in turn causes pain.  But the cytokines are a necessary part of muscle repair as they help to activate satellite cells which grow into healthy new muscle tissue.  This is how we attain hypertrophy or muscle growth.  Without this inflammatory process our muscles will not adapt to an exercise and will not undergo increases in size and strength.

So now you have worked your quads hard enough that you are not wanting to drink as many fluids so you won't have to visit the handicap stall as frequently.  It seems like now is a good time to take an anti-inflammatory to speed up the healing.  Not so fast!  True, the anti-inflammatory medication will block the production of cytokines in your body and decrease your pain, but blocking the release of these chemicals will also prevent the activation of satellite cells.  Remember those satellite cells?  They are responsible for muscle repair and growth.  If you block their activation, there will be no increases in muscular growth and strength.

Muscle soreness after an intense workout is normal and should be allowed to run its course.  But are there things you can do to decrease the intensity and duration of DOMS without negating the benefits of your hard work?  An easy walk or gentle stretching will help promote blood flow and can aid in the healing process.  Proper nutrition is also important.  Soon after an intense workout be sure to consume a snack or meal containing both carbohydrates and proteins.  Post workout is the best time to consume simple carbs as they will be put to work immediately in your body's repair process.

So does every workout need to produce muscle soreness to be effective?  Absolutely not!  In fact, working to the point of significant muscle soreness on a consistent basis could be counter-productive and lead to injury.  And while a small to moderate amount of soreness will stimulate muscle growth, working to the point of extreme soreness will prevent further exercise until healing takes place and can also result in rhabdomyolysis.  Rhabdomyolysis is the breakdown of muscle tissue that leads to the release of muscle fiber contents into the blood. These substances are harmful to the kidneys and often cause kidney damage.  Uncle Rhabdo, as the condition has been termed, has a reputation for being linked to CrossFit. 

There are many ways that our bodies become stronger and muscle hypertrophy is only one of them.  With consistent training our bodies also adapt to feeling no pain with low levels of inflammation post-workout.  We also see improvement in strength through neuromuscular adaptations.  As always, balance and variety in training is important.