Pain is always part of a successful natural bodybuilding workout but does it necessarily have to be so? Slight pain is considered normal as muscles are being put under the strain of resistance but how about lingering pain after the training regimen? Muscle soreness is a common occurrence in bodybuilding but did you know that soreness is not an indication of a successful natural bodybuilding workout? Acute muscle soreness could be felt after a workout, but if the pain could be felt for more than 24 to 48 hours then you could be suffering from delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) or post exercise muscle soreness (PEMS.)
Acute soreness after a natural bodybuilding workout could last up to an hour or more, as a result of a reduction in normal blood flow to the muscle and a buildup of metabolic byproducts such as lactic acid. This is normal as long as the pain subsides in a normal amount of time but if the pain inevitably lasts for more than a day or two, then post exercise muscle soreness is the culprit. DOMs or PEMS is though to be caused by muscle-tearing and repairing after a workout and usually lasts 2 to 3 days or longer depending on the intensity of the workout and the damage to tissue that has occurred. The body would eventually heal itself in the process but repeated application of very strenuous flexing could lead to permanent damage of the tissues, cartilages and joints. Pain should not be a motivator when doing a natural bodybuilding workout and soreness should not be an indication of successful muscle growth. Let your body heal properly by getting enough rest and let the soreness subside before working the muscle again. It may not sound like too big of a deal but dealing with soreness could be difficult as it interferes with your other daily routines, even sometimes affecting the way that you walk or move your arms, which could be disconcerting.
Having a training journal to keep track of your natural bodybuilding progress would be the best way to avoid muscle soreness, as the individual could keep track of the exercises performed, hence knowing which exercise caused the particular sore and to adjust the repetition and exercise accordingly. A training journal is a valuable tool in natural bodybuilding as it shows detailed progress of the training session, no matter how miniscule the improvement is. The goal is to be better each time but must be done safely. The training journal evaluates the overall direction of your exercise regimen so it would be wise to have one at the start of your natural bodybuilding program.
But persistent pain or muscle soreness could sometimes mean irreversible damage to the body part involved and this will put a sudden stop to your natural bodybuilding training!
A close look at the kinds of muscle soreness would help decipher the pain and its origins. It should be worth knowing that DOMS and PEMS are not completely understood but are covered under 3 kinds of hypotheses: connective tissue damage, skeletal muscle damage and spasm hypothesis. Either way, DOMS and PEMs could be avoided in a natural bodybuilding workout by paying close attention to your body’s limitation. Not all people are made the same and we all have different fitness levels and physical boundaries to consider in a natural bodybuilding workout. Never push yourself to the limit and focus on a realistic goal instead. Remember that acute pain is not an indication of a successful workout and that muscle soreness could lead to permanent injury, meaning more down time, and would hamper your natural bodybuilding regimen hence an increase in duration to experience muscle growth.
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