Why Do Muscles Get Sore the Day After a Workout?
It’s common for many people, especially when they’re just starting out on an exercise program, to feel sore for a day or two after a workout. Most people think that Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS for short) is a sign of a good workout, and that more soreness means faster muscle growth. Yet despite the popularity of this idea, the simple fact that your muscles are sore doesn’t mean that they’re going to grow any faster. “There’s no link between muscle soreness and protein synthesis; no link between muscle soreness and long-term growth; and no link between muscle soreness and muscle fiber damage,” says New Zealand personal trainer and coach Matt Perryman of AmpedTraining.com. “Muscle soreness happens when you create enough total damage to aggravate the connective tissues. This will sometimes correlate with a muscle-stimulating, growth-inducing workout. But just as often, it has nothing to do with muscle stimulation.” Running downhill, for example, is one of the best ways to create b
