How to prevent DOMS
The only fool-proof way of preventing DOMS completely is not exercising, but there are things you can do to lessen the soreness.
Always make sure you warm up before you start exercising so that your muscles are warm and ready to go. Make your warm-ups dynamic, meaning that you move around mimicking the movements you’re about to do during the bulk of your workout. We like Men’s Health’s 5 minute warmup which features video demonstrations as well as descriptions. Find it here.
Similarly, cooling down after your workout is a must too to allow your muscles to gradually get used to not moving as vigorously again. Lifehack have a list of the 15 most effective cool down exercises for every workout here.
Preventing DOMS is mostly about finding a good balance between pushing yourself enough during exercise to have an effect and not pushing yourself too much.
If you’re trying to step up your intensity but don’t feel comfortable, try and find a happy medium. Can you gradually increase the intensity instead?
We all want to be able to instantly do Arnie level workouts at the gym, or be able to outrun Usain Bolt, but listen to your body and go easy.
Losing weight takes time and though that can be frustrating, push yourself too hard and you’ll be dealing with a lot more than just a bit of muscle soreness.
