Soreness after workouts (DOMS)

[rickb]

I'm a weirdo and love DOMS! Makes me think I did a good job trashing my muscles

[jungleinthefrunk]

yeah if i dont have doms im depressed and feel like i didnt go hard enough.

[awaken375]

For the 9 months that I weightlifted heavy several years ago

I had DOMS very strongly for less than a month. After working a specific muscle in a specific direction only a few times, it doesn't come back for me.

Treat it like a rite of passage to have DOMS and assume it will fade quickly..

I'd assume quickening recovery via protein drinks, water and rest should be enough. (And maybe supplementing theanine for alpha waves(muscle regen)/relaxation)

[Kon]

So having shorter doms is better?

[awaken375]

Depends if you like feeling sore. I don't think there's a better or worse involved

[rickb]

So having shorter doms is better?

The only time it's mattered to me is if I wanted to repeat a bodypart in the same week but was too sore to do so. What a lot of people don't understand is that you don't grow while you are in the gym. You tear yourself down there which does cause micro-tears in your muscles and when you heal up with diet and rest....that's when you are apt to get stronger. When I stop getting DOMS for specific bodypart...I switch things up. I do however think you can progress even in muscles you don't necessarily get DOMS in. But I like it.

[awaken375]

So having shorter doms is better?

The only time it's mattered to me is if I wanted to repeat a bodypart in the same week but was too sore to do so. What a lot of people don't understand is that you don't grow while you are in the gym. You tear yourself down there which does cause micro-tears in your muscles and when you heal up with diet and rest....that's when you are apt to get stronger. When I stop getting DOMS for specific bodypart...I switch things up. I do however think you can progress even in muscles you don't necessarily get DOMS in. But I like it.

DOMS has nothing to do with progression. It can be a sensor for progress in the initial stages (that you simply attacked a new direction with a muscle).
I went from 90 pound deadlift to 315 pound in 9 months and didn't get any DOMS except in the beginning - a clear example

[rickb]

....When I stop getting DOMS for specific bodypart...I switch things up. I do however think you can progress even in muscles you don't necessarily get DOMS in. But I like it.

DOMS has nothing to do with progression. It can be a sensor for progress in the initial stages (that you simply attacked a new direction with a muscle).
I went from 90 pound deadlift to 315 pound in 9 months and didn't get any DOMS except in the beginning - a clear example

I disagree with "has nothing to do with progression". It sure lets me know what I hit. And when DOMS is nearly gone or gone all the way...those muscles feel ready to fire again. But as I insinuated above ...I don't think it's a a must. But it mentally satisfies me.

[HIT Rob]

Mike Mentzer told me (on many occasions), if being sore was necessary, He nor Ray (his brother who was a Mr America) would ever have won a physique title, as he nor Ray ever got sore from a workout. He said DOMS was not a sure fire indicator that growth has been stimulated. He also said that the pump was not a sure fire indicator that growth has been stimulated, but he did say they both felt good, and there was something to be said for that:).