T Nation

Nostalgic for DOMS

#1

When I first started DOMS felt awesome. The muscle just felt like it was a tyre tube that had been blown up with air. My first quads / hams / glutes DOMS was like a junky's first shot only it went on for three or four days. But quickly DOMS gave way to a boring mild, regular soreness. Does anyone else miss the newb DOMS?

Arnie was talking about feeling like that in Pumping Iron. I thought only Newbs get DOMS. But now matter how hard I work now I never get that swollen, newb Virgin DOMS feel. Does anyone else miss real DOMS but only ever get regular muscle soreness? Is there a way to bring it back?

#2

I can’t think of a single reason why anyone would want muscle soreness.
Some would say it shows that you have hit the intended muscle fully.
I say it would be pretty hard not to. I don’t need my muscles to ache for 2 or 3 days to keep letting me know that I have trained them.
Walking with a limp gets old quick.

#3

[quote]Angus1 wrote:
I can’t think of a single reason why anyone would want muscle soreness.
Some would say it shows that you have hit the intended muscle fully.
I say it would be pretty hard not to. I don’t need my muscles to ache for 2 or 3 days to keep letting me know that I have trained them.
Walking with a limp gets old quick. [/quote]

This

I can’t think of a single good thing about walking around like a sailor on show leave. Having said that, I can’t imagine it being that hard to relive this pleasure. Try the bench challenge that’s just gone up on CT’s blog. Or look up CC’s 365 rep challenge from the beginning of the year. Plenty of ideas in there.

#4

I limp to work every Monday after my Saturday workout.

It’s not a thing I would choose to do if given the choice.

#5

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I limp to work every Monday after my Saturday workout.

It’s not a thing I would choose to do if given the choice.[/quote]

No kidding. I’ve been lifting for more than 10 years, and I get DOMS regularly. I guess I must still be a ‘newb’. I have DOMS right now. My hamstrings and traps are fried from deadlifts and facepulls yesterday. I would not choose this soreness if I had the option.

OP… you’re either extremely lucky, or you’re not working very hard.

And as a side note, the ‘pump’ is not the same as DOMS. The pump is something you feel when your muscles are engorged with blood, during your workout. It’s not something I particularly enjoy, but bodybuilders swear by it. I don’t think bodybuilders love DOMS.

#6

[quote]chrono wrote:
The muscle just felt like it was a tyre tube that had been blown up with air.
…
Arnie was talking about feeling like that in Pumping Iron.
…
I never get that swollen, newb Virgin DOMS feel.[/quote]
Yeah, um, do you mean DOMS or the pump, because I seriously can’t tell what you’re talking about. What do you think DOMS stand for?

If you want to be sore, don’t drink anything during your training session, add an extra 2-count to every rep’s negative, and add 1x100 finisher to whatever bodypart you hit that day. But understand that you don’t need to feel sore to see progress. Soreness is an occasional byproduct of training, not a mandatory side effect, let alone a goal.

Also, I think this craving for muscular pain is probably why you racked up all those injuries you talked about in another thread that now prevent you from doing a ton of big lifts. So, nice work on that. Think maybe you wanna change your approach?

#7

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:

[quote]chrono wrote:
The muscle just felt like it was a tyre tube that had been blown up with air.
…
Arnie was talking about feeling like that in Pumping Iron.
…
I never get that swollen, newb Virgin DOMS feel.[/quote]
Yeah, um, do you mean DOMS or the pump, because I seriously can’t tell what you’re talking about. What do you think DOMS stand for?

If you want to be sore, don’t drink anything during your training session, add an extra 2-count to every rep’s negative, and add 1x100 finisher to whatever bodypart you hit that day. But understand that you don’t need to feel sore to see progress. Soreness is an occasional byproduct of training, not a mandatory side effect, let alone a goal.

Also, I think this craving for muscular pain is probably why you racked up all those injuries you talked about in another thread that now prevent you from doing a ton of big lifts. So, nice work on that. Think maybe you wanna change your approach?[/quote]

He also expressing how worried he was about beginners overtraining in another thread. I realize he was refering to himself. Doesn’t sound like over training, but like you said, just the wrong approach.

#8

DOMS is usually a good indicator that I pushed myself too hard and will have to take more time off to recover. Like this weekend… So I don’t really like it but I see where you are coming from.

#9

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:

[quote]chrono wrote:
The muscle just felt like it was a tyre tube that had been blown up with air.
…
Arnie was talking about feeling like that in Pumping Iron.
…
I never get that swollen, newb Virgin DOMS feel.[/quote]
Yeah, um, do you mean DOMS or the pump, because I seriously can’t tell what you’re talking about. What do you think DOMS stand for?

If you want to be sore, don’t drink anything during your training session, add an extra 2-count to every rep’s negative, and add 1x100 finisher to whatever bodypart you hit that day. But understand that you don’t need to feel sore to see progress. Soreness is an occasional byproduct of training, not a mandatory side effect, let alone a goal.

Also, I think this craving for muscular pain is probably why you racked up all those injuries you talked about in another thread that now prevent you from doing a ton of big lifts. So, nice work on that. Think maybe you wanna change your approach?[/quote]

I thought delayed onset muscle soreness was that pumped feeling and I only got that a few times when I started. Progressively less until it gave way to regular after workout soreness. This is the useful type of soreness that tells you where you hit the muscle exactly. But no matter how hard I work I don’t get that pumped balloon feeling anymore. Even if I do high reps and volume it doesn’t feel pumped in the same way. And I used to approach lifting with the attitude of just finishing the lift / set. But now I’m focused intensely on form and posture so I do things right and don’t injure myself.

#10

I love the pump. I love that once I build up volume, I can get a pump but I don’t get sore. I still feel like the muscle has been worked hard, just not sore.

Don’t focus so much on form and posture. Focus on the target muscle(s). The proper form is meant to do just that- target the muscle. A slight lean or a slightly different position can really make a difference, but if you’re not focusing on the muscle, you’ll never find it.

#11

[quote]chrono wrote:

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:

[quote]chrono wrote:
The muscle just felt like it was a tyre tube that had been blown up with air.
…
Arnie was talking about feeling like that in Pumping Iron.
…
I never get that swollen, newb Virgin DOMS feel.[/quote]
Yeah, um, do you mean DOMS or the pump, because I seriously can’t tell what you’re talking about. What do you think DOMS stand for?

If you want to be sore, don’t drink anything during your training session, add an extra 2-count to every rep’s negative, and add 1x100 finisher to whatever bodypart you hit that day. But understand that you don’t need to feel sore to see progress. Soreness is an occasional byproduct of training, not a mandatory side effect, let alone a goal.

Also, I think this craving for muscular pain is probably why you racked up all those injuries you talked about in another thread that now prevent you from doing a ton of big lifts. So, nice work on that. Think maybe you wanna change your approach?[/quote]

I thought delayed onset muscle soreness was that pumped feeling and I only got that a few times when I started. Progressively less until it gave way to regular after workout soreness. This is the useful type of soreness that tells you where you hit the muscle exactly. But no matter how hard I work I don’t get that pumped balloon feeling anymore. Even if I do high reps and volume it doesn’t feel pumped in the same way. And I used to approach lifting with the attitude of just finishing the lift / set. But now I’m focused intensely on form and posture so I do things right and don’t injure myself.
[/quote]

Great feeling when you’re lifting and after=pump

Delayed onset muscle soreness is the shitty feeling when your legs hurt for 3 days after intense training days. Pain with each step.

#12

I still get sore in pretty much every body part EXCEPT lats. The only time I can remember them being really sore was when I did a lot of pullups when I was first starting out! Do you guys feel your lats get really sore? And it’s not cause they’re not getting hit btw. They get hit pretty hard.