NAked Warrior - ZANDERBILT

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T H E P U R P O S E F U L P R I M I T I V E
DIRECT MUSCLE SORENESS
AND
DEEP MUSCLE FATIGUE
In my experience there are two distinct types of post-weight training aftershock: Direct
muscle soreness (DMS) and deep muscle fatigue (DMF.) Both are the result of training
intensely enough to trigger muscle hypertrophy. High repetition training is the culprit for
DMS: I have never experienced “sore to the touch” muscle trauma using low rep sets, even
when using multiple sets. Direct muscle soreness is fiber trauma related to high repetition
training. DMS is caused by performing high rep sets that equal or exceed capacity in some
fashion. This type of training creates intense muscle soreness that is a result of cellular
micro-trauma.
Are the cells torn apart or pressurized? Forcibly expanded? Forcibly contracted? Ripped
or shredded? The medical people can’t seem to agree, but one thing is for sure, some sort
of micro-cellular calamity is occurring. Deep muscle fatigue, DMF, occurs when a particular
muscle or muscle group is hit so hard using low reps and heavy poundage, that the
entire body is engulfed in waves of fatigue. For days afterwards the afflicted athlete feels as
if their limbs are made of lead or that they are moving through mud or water. Overcoming
DMS and DMF requires sleep, food and avoidance of further weight training until the sore
to the touch or leaden feeling subsides.
Sometimes the intensity of DMS/DMF becomes so severe that it debilitates the athlete.
The muscles are traumatized to such an extent that the athlete actually experiences mild
forms of paralysis. In both cases nutrients, rest and often therapeutic remedies such as heat,
water and massage can accelerate recovery. Traumatized muscles and fatigued muscles
need to heal, repair and regenerate before subjecting them to any further weight training.
I first crossed swords with the debilitating effects of direct muscle soreness when as a 13
year old man-child I found a 10 pound solid dumbbell (talk about a life omen) on my
grandmother’s hardscrabble Arkansas farm. I just found it in the burn pile one day. It was
black and solid. Being a dumb kid who was already reading Strength & Health magazine,
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