Did you even squat if you wake up without feeling like your quads and glutes are on fire? Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is one of the key indicators that you’ve really pushed yourself during a workout, and although it’s a good sign, it can make the prospect of returning for more feel even less appealing than usual.

We all know the value of resting post-workout in order to give our muscles a chance to grow, but what if you have back-to-back workouts planned? What if the only two days you have available to move fall on consecutive days?

DOMS should feel like a mild (and often even slightly satisfying) ache in your muscles, but it shouldn’t leave you in agony (this may be a sign of injury). And in some cases, exercising when you’ve got DOMS can aactually alleviate some of the pain in the short-term.

A 2013 study looked at the effects of light exercise with a resistance band on DOMS and found that it resulted in significant relief from symptoms – but only for a short while. The intensity of your DOMS also depends on how well-adapted the muscle is to deal with the stress it’s being subjected to. In a paper for the Strength And Conditioning Journal, researchers noted that high levels of soreness are a bad sign and indicate that someone has pushed too hard for the muscle to efficiently repair itself.

So, what kind of exercise should you do if you do have DOMS?

How to recover from DOMS: should you exercise if you're already aching from a workout?