Boot camp workouts provide a great number of side effects as benefits. Greater strength and endurance, more energy and self-confidence, and better overall health are among them.

However, there is one particular side effect that is not quite so pleasant. And those that are new to boot camp style workouts are the ones who experience it most severely. It’s called delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS.

DOMS is felt as a dull, aching pain in a particular muscle or muscle group. It is often accompanied with tenderness and stiffness. Typically, the pain is felt only when the muscle is being used or under pressure, not when it is at rest.

DOMS is different from any muscle pain or discomfort that might happen during the workout. That burning sensation and muscle fatigue experienced during exercise is a different process.

What makes DOMS unique in experience is that the soreness does not appear until many hours after the workout. The soreness usually peaks in intensity about 24 to 48 hours post workout and slowly subsides over the course of a few days.

What Causes DOMS

There are a number of theories surrounding the specific mechanisms that cause DOMS however nothing conclusive has been determined. Most likely, DOMS may be due to a combination of connective and muscle tissue micro-trauma, inflammation, and enzyme efflux.

There is only one thing for sure and that is the less accustomed you are to a type of exercise, the worse the soreness will be. For the deconditioned, the soreness can be intimidating and those that are unfamiliar with DOMS often believe they might have injured themselves. This is not the case and no one is immune from DOMS.

The good news is that one of the best ways to prevent DOMS is through the “repeated bout effect.“ That means that your body adapts to repeated exposures to the same type of training, so that, in time, you will be less and less sore.

Ironically, some people have come to believe that DOMS is an indicator of the effectiveness of a workout. This is not the case as muscle growth and physiological improvements take place regardless of DOMS.

Recovery and Rejuvenation

Before we get into dealing with the pain let’s talk a minute about recovery. No matter the severity of the DOMS, if you are working out properly to burn fat and build muscle (muscles burn calories) you are breaking down muscle tissue. So, recovery depends on two things – proper rest and nutrition.

With rest and nutrition your body doesn’t just rebuild muscle tissue that has broken down. Your body will seek to adapt to the stress put upon it by making those muscle fibers stronger and more dense (think hard body :-)) so it can handle that stress again in the future. That is why nutrition is so important including taking a multi-vitamin and using a post-workout shake.

What About the Pain?

Many methods for the treatment of DOMS have been tested. Published reports state that advanced clinical methods such as cryotherapy, homeopathy, ultrasound, and electrical current have demonstrated no effect on muscle soreness. Also stretching, while it does have its purposes, does not alleviate DOMS.

These reports indicate nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen may help, depending on dosage and time of administration. Also, massage has shown varying results that may depend on when the massage was applied and the type of massage technique used.

Believe it or not, exercise is the most effective means of alleviating pain during DOMS. Exercise provides a pain-relieving effect. However, this effect is temporary.

This is what Works!

Published reports and clinical studies aside, in the field experience has always lead the way for what works and what doesn’t when it comes to fitness. At boot camp, the pre-warm up and the cool down both include a form of self-massage called self-myofacial release (SMR) that is conducted using a foam roller.

This deceptively simple device is used by elite and professional athletes alike for soft tissue preparation, and recovery and rejuvenation. The use of the foam roller is also assigned as homework for our campers.

Clinical studies have proven that massage can be effective. Out in the field, foam rolling and other forms of self-massage are demonstrating their effectiveness for helping to alleviate DOMS and speed the recovery process.

Stay Wet!

One other factor to consider that may help to minimize DOMS is hydration. Connective tissue has a poor blood supply and is easily subjected to dehydration. As the tissue dries out, it loses its strength and elasticity and becomes brittle. Any strain on these tissues can cause fraying and tearing.

Well-hydrated tissue is stronger and more elastic, and more able to absorb the strains of physical trauma without breaking. Therefore, proper hydration at all times needs to be maintained.

Say What?

So in the end, if you are sore after your first few boot camp sessions, it is to be expected. Matter of fact, the more sore you are, the more you need it. Remember, no harm has been done and your body is making the improvements it needs to keep getting better.

To help prevent muscle soreness, make sure you use the foam roller both before and after the workout. Also, make sure you are well hydrated at all times.

Also, don’t skip your next workout because you may be sore. Exercise provides an analgesic effect and I promise you, you’ll make it through just as countless others have.

Use a foam roller at home. Grab it right as you get out of bed to warm up, loosen up, and get blood circulating to those muscle tissues to speed recovery. It may not be comfortable, but it does work!

Finally, an NSAID pain reliever may provide some pain relief (this is not advice – always seek medical “advice” from a medical practitioner), and always, always remember to stay well hydrated!

See you at Camp!

It’s no secret this country has a weight problem. The incidence of obesity in the United States has skyrocketed from 13 percent to 37 percent over the last 50 years. Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans who are extremely or “morbidly” obese has shot from 0.9 percent to 6 percent.

Obesity-related diseases and health problems account for 61 percent of healthcare costs in the United States every year. These costs exceed $147 billion per year and it is putting a huge strain on the economy and the healthcare system.

U.S. employers are losing $164 billion in productivity each year due to obesity-related issues with employees. $6.4 billion is estimated to be lost due to employee absenteeism related to obesity. Obese individuals pay more than double for prescription drugs compared to individuals who aren’t obese.

Now, you would expect the Fitness Certification Industry to be a wealth of information regarding Fat Loss, particularly as it pertains to exercise program design.

Not so much…

I examined four of the primary Personal Training Certification Systems, each from ACE, NASM, NSCA, and ISSA. That’s a total of 2918 pages.

2918 pages!!! And only 57 were on fat loss. What’s more?  98% of it was nutrition.

Nearly 3000 pages of Certification material and only a few paragraphs on exercise program design specific to fat loss goals. Pretty lame stuff it is, too!

We’ve got an obesity related health care crisis in this nation and our top rated personal and fitness certifications fail to address the issue directly, especially when it comes to exercise programming specially designed for fat loss.

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered 😉

So what is the Hierarchy of Fat Loss? It’s…

• Nutrition
• Nutrition

1. Nutrition is 80-90% of the equation when it comes to body composition and fat loss.

2. See #1.

Seriously. You simply can’t out train a bad diet.

So, what about exercise? What style of exercise training will melt the pounds off the fastest? Here they are in order.

1. Metabolic-Resistance/Strength Training
2. High Intensity Interval training
3. High Intensity Aerobic Training
4. Low Intensity Aerobic Training

Metabolic Resistance Training and Strength Training (MRT/ST) are at the top of the exercise pyramid. These are activities that burn calories, elevate metabolism and also maintain and/or promote muscle mass. If you have only 3-4 hours per week to work out, and you want to burn fat, use only this method.

Strength training, done right, burns more calories than aerobic exercise.

Strength training, by nature, will also maintain and promote lean mass and muscle. Your lean mass burns calories. When strength training is done in a certain manner (as in MRT), it creates what is commonly known as the “afterburn” effect.

MRT elevates your metabolism so your body continues to burn an increased number of calories even after you work out. All those extra calories spent come from fat. That is hard core science.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) includes activities that burn calories, and elevate metabolism. It is an exercise strategy that alternates periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods.

HIIT is a form of cardiovascular (heart, lungs, and circulatory system) exercise, so that the training mode is not necessarily geared toward building muscle or lean body mass.

However, these short, intense, workouts provide improved athletic capacity and conditioning, improved glucose metabolism, and improved fat burning. HIIT sessions may vary from 4–30 minutes. So, if you have 4-6 hours to train each week use primarily #1 with #2.

Next, we have two methods remaining and both of them are activities that burn calories but don’t necessarily maintain muscle or elevate metabolism. These are High Intensity Aerobic Training and Low Intensity Aerobic Training.

The key word here is aerobic. The difference between aerobic and anaerobic is one of the key differences between the top and bottom of the Fat Loss Hierarchy.

Aerobic means “with oxygen, while anaerobic means “without oxygen.”

Anaerobic exercise is short-lasting, high-intensity activity, where your body’s demand for oxygen exceeds the oxygen supply available. Anaerobic exercise relies on energy sources that are stored in the muscles and, unlike aerobic exercise, is not dependent on oxygen from breathing the air.

Examples of anaerobic exercise include heavy weight-lifting, all types of sprints (running, biking, etc.), jumping rope, hill climbing, interval training, isometrics, or any rapid burst of hard exercise. MRT/ST and HIIT are both anaerobic.

Aerobic exercise comprises innumerable forms. Regardless of “intensity” it can be performed over a relatively long period of time.

So, if you have 6-8 hours per week to train add #3 (High Intensity Aerobic Training) beyond the 4-6 hours spent on #1 and #2.

If you have more than 8 hours to train each week then add #4 (Low Intensity Aerobic Training).

And really, who has more than the 3-4 hours each week to train?

Most people are lucky if they can manage to squeeze that much time in, so if that is you, and you want to lose fat, now you know the best training style to use.

Pity all those people of the dreadmill wasting their time trying to lose fat when it’s the least effective method.

So, chances are, you only have 3-4 hours per week. For fat loss and maintaining a lean physique, stick with Metabolic and Strength Training.

Of course, you still have to figure out exercise selection. While there is no such thing as the “perfect workout,” you still want to construct a well-rounded workout.

You’ll need to consider repetitions, sets, rest, timing, tempo, frontal movement, sagittal movement, transverse movement, quad dominant lower body, hip dominant lower body, horizontal push/pull, vertical push pull, rotation/anti-rotation, flexion/anti-flexion, bilateral/unilateral, contralateral/ipsilateral, compound movements, peripheral heart action, reciprocal muscle groups, periodization, etc.

You’ll also need to keep in mind that when you’ve done the same workout 4-6 times, with any decent amount of training experience, your body has adapted to the workout. So, you’ll need to keep mixing it up.

Of course, knowing a little bit about anatomy and physiology helps.

You’ll want to know which specific muscles you are working, and which bones they are attached to, and perhaps even how the energy systems inside your body work.

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered 🙂

This is training you can take with you the rest of your life.