Muscle Soreness

wilsoncl6

I have been weight lifting for some time and in the past have been pretty sore after my workouts. However, lately I've been able to get through my workouts even after increasing weights and have not gotten sore at all. My muscles feel really tight and I have a good pump but no soreness at all. The question is, if I'm not sore after my weight routine, am I pushing myself hard enough or is it just that my body has gotten very efficient at removing lactic acid and other toxins from my muscles? I usually do medium weight, 4 different exercises per muscle group, 4x10 reps where the last rep is a struggle. This has always yielded results for me.

jacksonpt

General thought is that soreness is NOT an indicator of the quality of your workout.

If you are able to complete you lifts each session and increase your lifts as programmed, then you are doing just fine.

wilsoncl6

Good to know. I've been increasing incrementally over the weeks but didn't know if I was moving up in weight too slowly.

jacksonpt

FWIW... I find that the only time I end up sore is:

1) when I add a new lift to my routine
2) when a lift requires both a stretch and a contraction of the muscle (i.e. lunges, chest flys)

yoovie

soreness sometimes just means you didnt stretch and cool-down as much as you should have. doesn't necessarily indicate a great workout.

i also usually only get it when im doing something new.

Grar_Ulfur

Do not forget to consider recovery/active recovery in your workout plans as growth and improvement occurs during this time. Disregarding recovery and emphasizing training will result in sore muscles and tendons.

Additionally, take a look at your nutrition, a dearth of nutrients will also hamstring (pardon the pun) improvement.

I recently discovered the benefits of the inclusion of PQQ and D-Ribose in my diet, these are described in the literature as increasing levels of ATP (the "energy currency" of the cell) as well as stimulating the production of Mitochondria. One researcher reported a 30% increase in these organelles. Recovery and cellular energy can be increased. This helped a lot with soreness.

tomcustombuilder

Progressive overload is the gauge of progress you should be looking at. Soreness is not an indicator of a good session. If you implement a new routine or a new exercise you’ll most likely feel it 24 hours later it just means you’re micro tearing some fibers.

dblirondog

Such a great question, I've been thinking the same thing. Good answers to think about.

claireychn074

9 year old zombie thread! 😜