drtbear1967

Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
Those who consumed caffeine prior to exercise had less delayed onset muscle soreness compared to those who didn’t consume caffeine.
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Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is something that a lot of people who are new to working out experience. It’s not to say that experienced lifters don’t also experience DOMS, because they do. If you have ever tried a new workout regime or structured your workouts differently you know what I’m talking about.
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DOMS is not as black/white as you may think. DOMS is definitely not due to the buildup of lactic acid. And DOMS isn’t really that well related to muscle damage (this varies). It “seems” that DOMS May be due to occurrences outside of the muscle cell itself.
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DOMS is not only seen in heavy resistance training but also long distance runners, which leads us to think that it isn’t necessarily an indication that muscle growth will occur due to a workout making you sore.
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The reason your muscles hurt a day or so after your workout is because the muscle cell releases waste/substrates into the area outside the cell where nociceptors are located. These receptors are free nerve endings that sense inflammation or traffic outside the cell and send a pain signal to the brain.
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The reason that caffeine is able to help with muscle soreness is because it attaches to receptors in the brain that adenosine would normally bind. These same receptors are big players with the perception of pain when adenosine is present and bound to those receptors.
 
I hardly ever drink caffeine, maybe that's why DOMS kills me off all the time. I guess I'll have to try out a preworkout with caffeine.
 
I don't drink coffee either, but get in some caffeine from other sources. Not sure that helps or not but no issues with DOMS that often.
 
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