But is this correct? Is there any evidence to support the idea that muscle soreness serves as a valid indicator of muscle hypertrophy?Ī recent article by Brad Schoenfeld and Bret Contreras from the Strength and Conditioning Journal examined exactly this idea. DOMS can occur anywhere in the body that has recently been exposed to unfamiliar or intense physical activity.ĭespite the inconvenience of a significant bout of DOMS, a commonly held belief among trainees is that this soreness translates to progress, a job well done, and your ticket to inevitable Gainz™. And while lower body soreness tends to be more inhibiting and memorable, the phenomenon certainly isn’t limited to the legs. This is the classic delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which tends to kick in from as soon as six to eight hours post-exercise, and peaks around the 48 hour mark, though there is much individual variation of this timeline.
Puts on pants: “Ahh, yep, okay, those deadlifts really did the trick!”.After the tentative walk down the stairs leaving the gym after a leg session, we’ve all experienced the love/hate cycle of performing basic tasks the day after, or even the day after the day after leg day: