Dealing with DOMS

Question

I recently restarted my gym lifestyle and as expected DOMS made their appearance, specially chest shoulder area, now my issue is not how to deal with them on a daily basis but specifically when I require those muscles to do another exercise in my case, squats; I've been trying to stretch my shoulders all day trying to reach a similar position as if I was holding the bar behind my neck(like for squatting) but the discomfort is really bad.

I was wondering how can I deal with DOMs while working out, stretching, avoid movements that cause aching, or just suck it up and do the routine.

Answer 1

I wouldn't mess with it too much outside of the gym. Some light stretching just to maintain range of motion is good but be careful not to go too far!

You can very easily train through DOMS, if it's just soreness then go through it but if your joints feel terrible or you feel you cannot produce force then it'll be better to rest.

In general muscular DOMS is fine, but if you manage to damage your connective tissue (tendons etc) then you'll need to rest it for a while before continuing to work out a bit less intensely. Rest is the key, not trying to treat it.

Answer 2

Often enough a foam roller can accomplish what stretching cannot. I would recommend you add that into your routine