How to prevent DOMS with this one gym essential

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Stress to muscles from exercise causes tiny microscopic tears in our muscle fibres, which serves a purpose: when those fibres rebuild, the muscle fibres thicken and the muscle becomes stronger,” she says. To prevent it, the trainer recommends building up your activity gradually: “The good news is that your body does acclimatise to increased levels of activity, so DOMS should reduce in frequency and lessen over time, only resurfacing with changes in your programme.” She explains that the ultimate goal of any training program is to find the optimal balance between work and recovery: “While you regain that long-awaited focus and motivation on your fitness goals after lockdown, make sure you allow time to ease yourself into each session with at least 10 minutes of mobility and allow time to fully recover to really ensure that what you’re doing is sustainable and beneficial.” While DOMS should improve on its own after 72 hours, there are ways to speed up your recovery. “Foam rolling for 10 minutes after an intense workout is beneficial as it increases blood circulation to the muscles and connective tissues, which helps to increase oxygen and nutrient delivery to the areas of damage, to speed up the removal of waste such as lactate and deliver more nutrients to the damaged fibres,” she says.