Being a health practitioner and fitness enthusiast, I believe wholeheartedly in every person having a consistent exercise regimen as part of a healthy and holistic lifestyle.

One of the obstacles I have seen, even in the most motivated patients, is something called DOMS: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

DOMS, also called muscle fever, is the pain and stiffness felt in muscles several hours to days after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise. The soreness is felt most strongly 24 to 72 hours after the exercise.

I can’t think of a more powerful de-motivator than pain and soreness. One of my jobs as a naturopathic doctor is to help remove obstacles to cure — or in this case, compliance!

So here are my pre- and post-workout supplement solutions for getting a skin in the game, and keeping it there!


Pre-Workout. About 30 to 60 minutes before exercise, take CoQ10 as ubiquinol to delay the time to exhaustion, enhance muscle integrity, and protect against oxidative stress.

Found in the mitochondria of every single cell in the body, CoQ10 plays a key role in energy production. CoQ10 not only assists in the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), research published in the "European Journal of Nutrition" reports that it also modulates the inflammatory signaling that can lead to muscle damage.

This potent antioxidant also prevents exercise-induced oxidative damage by scavenging free radicals.

To carry out these critical tasks, mitochondrial CoQ10 continuously cycles from ubiquinone, its ATP production state, to ubiquinol, its reduced active state. As a bonus, regular supplementation increases plasma CoQ10 levels and increases the time to exhaustion during exercise.

Post-Workout. Even if athletes take well-earned rest days, weekend warriors or those who are new to exercise often experience a combination of exhaustion and DOMS.

Instead of relying on caffeine to prop up flagging energy levels and over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that can actually delay the healing process, people can benefit from targeted supplementation designed to safely support healthy recovery.

Curcumin is the substance responsible for giving the curry spice turmeric its vibrant yellow hue. It also possesses powerful anti-inflammatory capabilities.

Studies show that curcumin downregulates COX-2 and iNOS enzymes, likely by suppressing NF-kB activations. Curcumin also inhibits arachidonic acid metabolism and the production of inflammatory cytokines while blocking a key receptor that plays a role in the perception of pain.

As a result, researchers at the University of South Carolina note that curcumin can help offset post-workout muscle damage and the resulting soreness.

But there’s one catch: Curcumin is poorly absorbed and has limited systemic bioavailability.

Fortunately, researchers have developed several very unique forms of curcumin, which boast up to 29-fold increased absorption, and bioavailability including a combination of finely milled curcumin and turmeric oil called BCM-95 and can be found in a product called Curamin.