VeganJT666 wrote:
How much soreness do you all experience after workouts, and how long is the recovery time? Sometimes I am sore for days after a workout, especially if I go hard, and I don't know how to really alleviate it. Do I need to eat more? I feel like days I work out I eat a ton of food, but I am more sore than I have ever been. Or am I just being a baby about it? Any advice or stuff would be appreciated.
It used to be thought that speeding recovery and preventing DOMS was as simple as increasing protein, fats and carbohydrates intake. Now, however, its clear that while repairing structural damage to skeletal muscles by nutritional means is relatively simple, controlling or reducing the inflammatory response to exercise and preventing or reducing the painful symptoms that come with DOMS is more complicated.
Until recently, the only anti-DOMS recourse for athletes has been to use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like ibuprofen. Unfortunately these over-the-counter pain killers stunt muscle growth2 and can damage the liver.
Despite the risk of side effects, the medical community has considered the safety/efficiency ratio satisfying enough to accept the administration of NSAIDs. With recent data however such a practice should be seriously scrutinized.
Using enzymes to combat DOMS is well established. A study by Innerfield in 1957 examined the anti-inflammatory effects of protease enzyme therapy and showed that protease enzyme supplementation may have anti-inflammatory effects.3 Unfortunately, absorption issues and the destruction of enzymes in the gut have severely limited the effectiveness of traditional anti-DOMS enzyme therapy.
Typically, the absorption rate of orally ingested enzymes is low - with protease enzymes absorption rates ranging between 40% for bromelain and greater for mixed protease products4, and a rate of about 5% absorption for orally ingested sitosterols.5
To solve these absorption difficulties, scientists added the ingredient piperine to enzyme mixtures. They found that piperine - an ingredient extracted from pepper - increased enzyme absorption by up to 60%!6,7
Source:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/south127.htm