DOMS affect people differently depending on their age, sex and level of fitness
Aaron defines an eccentric muscle contraction as the “stretching of a muscle in response to an opposing force on that muscle when the opposing force is greater than the muscles current force production.” Eccentric actions during exercise may “stretch the sarcomeres to a point where the myofilaments experience sarcomere damage referred to as exercise-induced delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS)” (Aaron). DOMS affect people differently depending on their age, sex and level of fitness, therefore, as a personal trainers I would consider these factors before selecting an eccentric action regimen for my clients.
For very fit clients, who use their one-repetition maximum (1-RM) numbers to measure their strength, I would encourage them to use a supramaximal load during the eccentric phase of their lifting so that they can increase their 1-RM numbers. Researchers have found that applying a heavier-than-1-RM weight during the eccentric period of a lift can increase 1-RM. (Aaron) This exercise training would also help them improve their sub-maximal weights for sustained exercises.
For unfit clients, I would recommend an eccentric training schedule that involved sub-maximal weights (weights below the client’s 1-RM). Research findings indicate that “for untrained subjects, muscle damage is less while muscle recovery is fast after submaximal loading than after maximal loading.”(Aaron) The use of submaximal loads will help clients lessen the occurrence of DOMS and motivate them to continue with the exercises.
For elderly clients, I would use submaximal loads, such as 40% of their 1-RM. The use of submaximal loads would help reduce muscle damage during and after the training phase. Elderly males typically experience less DOMS compared to young males subjected to the same exercise. However, elderly females show no difference in DOMS when compared to young females. (Aaron) Therefore it is advisable to use submaximal loads for all elderly clients.
The article “Eccentric Training” by Aaron Bubbico was very informative on how muscles react to eccentric training and how the onset of DOMS differs amongst different clients. Of particular importance was how using the Repeated Bout Effect can reduce DOMS. This information will help me develop better training plans for my clients in the future.