Two days ago I took a circuit training class at the YMCA.  It was a full sixty minutes of stair stepping, squats, weights, abs and calesthenics.  It was hard, but I made it through with a smile on my face.  Yesterday I was a bit sore, but okay.   Today I can barely move.

I just looked it up and apparently it’s “delayed onset muscle soreness” or DOMS for short.

Web MD describes DOMS as “Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a common result of physical activity that stresses the muscle tissue beyond what it is accustomed to.”

About.com says  “Delayed onset muscle soreness is thought to be a result of microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers.”

Great.  I’m sore.  However, I don’t want to stop working out.   I spent all day trying to decide whether to take the same class again today like I’d planned.  But what  I read  on the web suggested to me that it might not be a good idea due to the risk of injury.   However, I am unwilling to skip my workout entirely.  One option might be “Active Recovery”.

About.com says,   “Active recovery refers to engaging in low-intensity exercise after workouts. There are two forms of active recovery. One is during the cool-down phase immediately after a hard effort or workout. The second form of active recovery includes the days following a competition or other intense workout.

The general theory is that low-intensity activity assists blood circulation which, in turn, helps remove lactic acid from the muscle. Low-intensity active recovery appears to significantly reduce accumulated blood lactate and speed muscle recovery.”

Okay, so it looks like the smart thing to do would have been to go for a slow jog today on a flat treadmill and not do the stair-stepping and weight lifting movements that caused this pain.  But I chose to do it anyway.

I went back to class.   I was scared that it was a bad idea and that I’d have to leave after a few minutes.  But it turns out, I was okay.  The class was slightly different.  Part of the circuits involved leaving the classroom and running on the track.  So I got some running in!  And I think the running helped to not make it so hard, it wasn’t all stair stepping and squats like Monday’s, it was different muscles, so I am fine.    And I’m thrilled that I didn’t wimp out and take the easy road.

Weight:  193.0
Running Total:  .5 miles
Calories Consumed: 1466
Calories Burned: 2662
Calorie Deficit: -1196