We've all felt it, that horrible feeling in the morning.

You wake up to your alarm and hit that snooze button, laying there an extra 10 minutes before you get up. As you lay there thinking about the day ahead you notice that your butt and hamstrings (back of the legs) have a dull ache to them. Realisation sets in.........damn I have DOMS! The day has suddenly got worse!

All manner of activities and tasks will now be sooooooo much harder today.

From sitting down on the loo to walking downstairs you know its going to hurt. In fact the shear simple task of walking is going to be a massive effort. Looking like you've shit yourself isn't far off what you look like.

DELAYED ONSET OF MUSCLE SORENESS (DOMS) IS THE FEELING YOU GET WHEN YOU'VE HAD A WORKOUT. IT NORMALLY HAPPENS 12-72 HOURS AFTER A SESSION AND GET HOT YOU OUT OF NOWHERE.

So what causes it?

Many people think that a measure of a great workout is how bad your DOMS are for the next few days.

LET ME TELL YOU STRAIGHT DOMS IS NOT A GOOD MEASURE OF A GREAT A WORKOUT!

The results you get over several weeks is the best indicator.

It's actually down to many variables during your workout

CAUSES OF DOMS

Higher Volume - If you've performed many sets of an exercise or group of exercises for the same body part compared to recent workouts
A higher intensity than normal
Lots of eccentric loading - The lowering part of an exercise. e.g. as you step forward in to a lunge and lower your body to the floor or as you lower yourself to sitting in a squat
Doing different exercises that you haven't done before.

Don't get me wrong some of the above have benefits but it doesn't mean your workout is amazing.

THERE ARE NUMEROUS CHARACTERISTICS OF DOMS BEYOND JUST THAT ACHING FEELING.

YOU MAY ALSO GET THE FOLLOWING

Swelling of the affected limbs;
Stiffness of the joint accompanied by temporary reduction in a joint’s range of motion
Tenderness to the touch (try poking your mate in the effected limb, its funny to see their pain)
Temporary reduction in strength of the affected muscles (lasting days);
In rare and severe cases, muscle breakdown to the extent that the kidneys may be placed at risk

CAN YOU EASE THE SYMPTOMS?

There is little evidence so shows you can speed up recovery. To help reduce the symptoms you could

Use an ice pack
Light massage (this will really suck if its super bad)
Oral pain relief like paracetamol or anti-inflammatories
Light exercise to encourage blood flow

CAN I STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING

If you stay clear of the causes you may stop DOMS from happening, although if you do this you'll miss out on some of the benefits to the types of training that cause it in the first place. Try to think moderation so you keep the soreness to a minimum. If you can't train due to DOMS your progress will stop, making the pursue of that achy DOMS feeling counterproductive to your goals.

HERE'S 4 WAYS TO HELP KEEP DOMS TO A MINIMUM

Gradually increase training volume and or intensity over a few weeks rather than all at once
Warm up and cool down appropriately
When changing a routine try to change a few exercises each workout rather than everything at once
Eat and sleep well to help you recover