When Does DOMS Become Excessive?

Tuesdays are my deadlift days recently, and last week I really hit it hard. My low back and hamstrings and hips were sore all the way until Sunday.

It really didn’t hamper me too much until Saturday, which was squat day, but a good warm-up later, I performed well. Still felt tight in my back and legs, though.

My question is this; when does DOMS start to become excessive in your opinion? I got plenty of sleep this last week, and outside of boxing, nothing that would bang on my lower back. The soreness was all muscle, no spinal pain like I’d hurt discs or anything. Did I just pull too hard, too fast, or is almost a week of DOMS acceptable as long as it doesn’t impinge on other activities?

Dude,

My quad dominant leg day is on Fridays, my hip dominant leg day is on Mondays. I am basically sore all the time. You’re not experiencing anything unusual. Just make sure you’re getting plenty of rest, drinking enough water, and stretching daily including myofascial release with a foam roller. These will all help. Also, I’ve also been following others recommendations of slamming down Power Drive following my workout for recovery and seems to be helping.

[quote]Crispyknight wrote:
Tuesdays are my deadlift days recently, and last week I really hit it hard. My low back and hamstrings and hips were sore all the way until Sunday.

It really didn’t hamper me too much until Saturday, which was squat day, but a good warm-up later, I performed well. Still felt tight in my back and legs, though.

My question is this; when does DOMS start to become excessive in your opinion? I got plenty of sleep this last week, and outside of boxing, nothing that would bang on my lower back. The soreness was all muscle, no spinal pain like I’d hurt discs or anything. Did I just pull too hard, too fast, or is almost a week of DOMS acceptable as long as it doesn’t impinge on other activities?[/quote]

I think a whole week from just one session is pretty atypical. With DOMS I find the worst comes at about 24-36 hrs. after the event. I expect to feel fine again in 72 hrs or so.

It sounds to me like you’ve strained your lower back, or maybe you’re not stretching your hamstrings?

DOMS shouldn’t last a whole week from one workout unless you are really new at this or have tried a different exercise.

I would have a look at what you are doing for recovery. I found that when I was working my lower back hard once a week, I felt worse for longer than if I did a light high rep day 3 days after my first workout.

Guys,

He said he was sore for 5 days, not 7. I don’t what you guys are doing in the gym, but I sure as hell can feel quad, glute, and lower back soreness for up to 5 days after a good squat workout.

Does anybody stretch, for cat’s sake? Five days worth of DOMS is excessive, never mind a week, I don’t care what you were doing.

Also, anybody who talks about being ‘tight’ probably isn’t stretching.

When you can’t bare to masturbate for 2 days?!?

[quote]endgamer711 wrote:
Does anybody stretch, for cat’s sake? Five days worth of DOMS is excessive, never mind a week, I don’t care what you were doing.

Also, anybody who talks about being ‘tight’ probably isn’t stretching.[/quote]

This is an interesting discussion, maybe it’s different for you. Heck, I stretch 20 to 30 minutes per night and I can still feel a little sore in my legs after 5 days.

The guy also didn’t say he was excessively sore after 5 days, just that he could feel it when he was squatting.

Dude, I don’t think what you’re experiencing is excessive. Just make sure you are stretching on a consistent basis.

I never get the good old fashioned DOMS that I got as a beginner unless I try a new movement or hit a bodypart I haven’t trained in a while. In fact, when I did, it went away faster if I trained again.

For example I benched 10 x 5 at 75% (275) last monday, 10 x 3 at 85%+ (325) on wednesday and 10 x 1 at 95%+ (345) on Friday, and 10 x 6 at 70%(245) on Saturday and a max paused floor press (335) on monday and never got DOMS although I started to get a little wrist and shoulder pain and my neck was tight.

On the other hand, I don’t train my biceps very regularly and I did 10 x 6 dumbell preachers with a very slow negative in the lower half of the ROM on Sunday and they are sore as hell and will probably be for another 2-3 days.

I have done workouts that left me sore for close to a week. 30 x 3 seated calf raises with maximal weights and I could not push the brake on my car for 4 days

Lets see. I have been stretching, not a half hour a day like randman, but maybe twenty minutes three times a week. I’ve been doing deadlifts for a while (about the time I found T-Nation. Coincidence?) but I’ve never been sore for quite that long. Three days, sure, but five or six I thought was a bit much. I had pulled a new PR that day.

I rested, ate a ton, and even soaked in epsom salts in the bath a couple days. I’m certainly not complaining about a good workout, but I was just poking about trying to get a feel for what you all consider “excessive” DOMS. Next time I can’t masturbate for two days I know I’ve overdone it :smiley: Thanks for the replies.

When I train hard I’m sore for about three days. If I’m sore longer than that I know that I was not quite up to what I put myself through. In other words, I over did it.