DOMS Explained: Why Muscle Soreness Fades (And Why That's Not a Bad Sign)

You tried a new exercise, or just pushed harder than usual, and now walking down stairs two days later feels like a workout in itself. Then, a few weeks in, that same soreness barely shows up anymore — even though you're still training just as hard. That fading soreness isn't a sign your workouts have stopped working; it's actually a sign of adaptation.

Written by Velion Physique. I have worked in the fitness industry since 2019, including as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor.

What is actually happening

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is caused by microscopic damage to muscle fibres and connective tissue, most often from new exercises, eccentric-heavy movements (the lowering portion of a lift), or a sudden jump in volume. It typically peaks 24-72 hours after training, which is why it's "delayed" rather than immediate.

The fading-soreness effect has a name: the repeated bout effect. The first time you do an unfamiliar movement, your muscles have no specific adaptation to it, so the damage — and soreness — is significant. Your body responds by strengthening the connective tissue and improving how muscle fibres handle that specific movement pattern. Do the same movement again a week or two later, and there's simply less damage to repair, so there's less soreness — even though the training stimulus and the muscle growth response are still very much happening.

Situation	What it usually means
New exercise, sore for 2-3 days	Normal — repeated bout effect hasn't kicked in yet
Same exercise for weeks, soreness fading	Normal adaptation, not reduced effectiveness
Sudden sharp pain during the movement itself	Possible injury — different from DOMS, stop and assess
Soreness lasting more than 5-7 days	Possibly excessive volume — scale back next session

What actually helps

Don't chase soreness as a progress marker

It's tempting to feel like a session "didn't work" if you're not sore the next day, but soreness is a poor measure of muscle growth. Strength increases, muscle measurements, and how much weight or reps you can add over time are far more reliable signals that training is working.

Ease into new exercises rather than maxing out

Since unfamiliar movements cause the most soreness, introduce new exercises at a moderate effort level for the first session or two rather than pushing to failure immediately. You'll still get the adaptation benefit with noticeably less soreness to manage afterward.

Light movement speeds recovery more than resting still

Gentle activity — walking, easy cardio, light stretching — increases blood flow to sore muscles and tends to ease DOMS faster than sitting completely still. It won't eliminate the soreness, but it can take the edge off. Sleep does even more of that repair work than movement does — see why recovery happens mostly at night.

Keep training through mild DOMS

Mild-to-moderate soreness is not a reason to skip training, especially if a different muscle group is on the schedule. Training through it, at a normal intensity, is generally fine and won't make things worse for most people.

Common questions

Is DOMS necessary for muscle growth?

No. Muscle growth happens with or without soreness. Many experienced lifters make great progress while rarely feeling sore, because their muscles have adapted to their regular training.

How is DOMS different from an injury?

DOMS is a dull, generalised ache that builds over a day or two and affects the whole muscle. An injury typically involves sharper, more localised pain, often felt immediately during the movement itself, and doesn't follow the same 24-72 hour delayed pattern.

Should I stretch to prevent soreness?

Stretching feels good and can offer temporary relief, but the evidence that it meaningfully prevents or reduces DOMS is weak. A proper warm-up and gradual progression in training load matter more.

Why am I sore in a muscle I didn't train?

Many exercises recruit stabiliser muscles you don't think about — a heavy leg day can leave your core or lower back sore, for example, even though you didn't train them directly.

The short version

DOMS is caused by microscopic muscle damage, and it fades over repeated sessions of the same movement because your body adapts — not because the training has stopped working. Use strength and consistency as your progress markers instead of soreness, and keep training through anything mild.

If your soreness always seems to come from the same spots, guides like Get Bigger Arms Fast and Build a Bigger Chest Fast are built around structured progression rather than random maxed-out sessions, and the Complete Muscle-Building Bundle covers the full range of training guides in one package.

Related: see Progressive Overload Explained and Deload Weeks: Why Taking It Easier Sometimes Builds More Muscle.

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