This video covers one of the most common questions I get from clients and my fitness friends. Should you lift when you are sore, what exactly causes muscle soreness, and of course the classic question of why our legs always seem to get the most sore.
I will clear up a myth right off the bat and tell you that muscle soreness is not caused by lactic acid. I know that your high school gym teacher probably taught you this, but they were wrong. If you are still in contact with them be sure to send a strongly-worded letter explaining how they are spreading misinformation after watching this video.
Muscle soreness is actually caused by damage to muscle fibers and cell membrane (sarcolemma) that leads to inflammation, swelling, and the dreaded delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
This damage is mostly caused by doing eccentric movements (covered in the video). Movements that mainly focus on an explosive concentric phase (this olympic lifting) will not do nearly as much damage to the muscle fibers.
Let me know if any questions come up in this video and I would be happy to answer them for you!
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Chapters:
Intro: 0:00
What ACTUALLY Causes Sore Muscles: 0:28
Eccentric vs Concentric Movements: 2:50
Is Getting Sore Necessary: 4:54
Should You Lift When Sore: 8:00