Does post workout Soreness mean you had a Killer Workout?

workout_freak89

DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness is the pain or soreness experienced typically several hours after workout

is DOMS related to how productive your workout was???

NO it' not

yet why do many people mistake the degree of post workout soreness to the efficacy of their workout??

Most common reason is instant feedback and lack of knowledge... in fact just think about it.. It even seems logical...harder the exercise more is the soreness..On top of this the bro science "i killed my legs yesterday bro! I can't even get up from my bed.... gonna get those killer quads by tomorrow!! " .another addition to the long list of fitness and health myths

unfortunately this is completely wrong and baseless as far as success of the workout depends...workouts can still be effective even if you’re not sore, because exercise is still effective after you stop getting sore from it...just because one is not experiencing the same level of post exercise soreness as when he first started out doesn't mean it's efficacy has reduced. It means that the body has adapted to the level of intensity

what about the muscle micro tear and micro trauma??
Muscle biopsy and electron microscopy shows that the reason for pain is connective tissue damage and inflammation in the area around the muscle tendon attachment where most of the sensory nerve fibers innervate. While it’s true that the method which stimulates the synthesis of new myofibrils ( components of muscle cell) owes its basis to the micro tears introduced in muscle fibers, however this process is NOT always accompanied by pain and soreness

classic case where the effect is mistaken for cause

if muscle soreness is not the indicator of success then what is??

Performance aka progressive overload
if you are lifting more weight than the previous workout then your last session was a hit. Congratulations!

Have a powerful day!!

AbbeyDove

Thanks. I didn't know that, and had equated the two. Do you have any websites you'd suggest that people check out regarding this?

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Katzedernacht

I agree,I used to think if it didn't feel like dying I was being lazy but now, if it feels "easy" I add more weight or reps or increase ROM,I do get tired,sweat and oh lord ,leg day is never chill,but I am not super ultra sore all the time, just today, damn those romanian deadlifts.

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Katzedernacht

workout_freak89 wrote: »

Katzedernacht wrote: »

I agree,I used to think if it didn't feel like dying I was being lazy but now, if it feels "easy" I add more weight or reps or increase ROM,I do get tired,sweat and oh lord ,leg day is never chill,but I am not super ultra sore all the time, just today, damn those romanian deadlifts.

also try not to go to failure on every set...drains way too much energy and not worth it

Oh I never hit failure,well yes,sometimes when I'm adding weight,but I don't over do it cos if I do then I can't perform as well

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Tahlia68

I joined my local gym last week to get my fitness back after a 12yr break due to illness. I went last Monday, my first day and my fitness instructor said "no pain no gain"! He stated if your not "sore" the next day your not working hard enough? I've been 4 times this week and was very sore after the first 2 day's and a little bit sore yesterday. Today not bad at all. I can certainly feel the hard work I've done.

Katzedernacht

workout_freak89 wrote: »

Katzedernacht wrote: »

workout_freak89 wrote: »

Katzedernacht wrote: »

I agree,I used to think if it didn't feel like dying I was being lazy but now, if it feels "easy" I add more weight or reps or increase ROM,I do get tired,sweat and oh lord ,leg day is never chill,but I am not super ultra sore all the time, just today, damn those romanian deadlifts.

also try not to go to failure on every set...drains way too much energy and not worth it

Oh I never hit failure,well yes,sometimes when I'm adding weight,but I don't over do it cos if I do then I can't perform as well

lifting to failure is OK as long as it happens unintentionally ( for progression to happen)
problem is when people deliberately make every set every exercise hit failure..that's just plain dumb

Ah yeah I hear ya,reminds me of a particular flock of dudes at my gym hehe,they can literally lift that weight not half an inch again, every time..

Drewlssix

It's part of the long established "feel the burn" "love the burn" culture prevelent in the bodybuilding world. And the cardio world.

I had this EXACT mindset until recently, and I fell off the fitness wagon often because as I got fitter and stronger the DOMS got less severe and I began to feel less rewarded for my work. Funny enough every time I came back and got sore I loved it! Starting again became my favorite part of exercise, so I was never consistent enough to really get in shape.

Growing up in the 80s and 90s every source of information seemed to be selling the idea that being in shape meant severe sacrifices, and those sacrifices were glorified to the point that I think many people accepted that being fit just wasn't for them. Ultimately contributing to our obesity epidemic.

I learned early on that fitness was either hours a day at the gym pumping out tons of reps for every individual muscle or hours upon hours of cardio. Both leaving you sore and exhausted. But somehow supposedly stronger and healthier.

Even now I feel like I'm either lazy or a charlatan when I do my 5x5, or tell people that it can be done in "just an hours a day three days a week!" Like an infomercial spokesman.

But the fun part is that knowing I can maintain a really good level of fitness with that little work means I can indulge in other exercises just for fun, knowing that I don't face a lifetime of the grind just to get by. It's not just a choice between the #gymlyfe!! And being soft and weak.

Drewlssix

Tahlia68 wrote: »

I joined my local gym last week to get my fitness back after a 12yr break due to illness. I went last Monday, my first day and my fitness instructor said "no pain no gain"! He stated if your not "sore" the next day your not working hard enough? I've been 4 times this week and was very sore after the first 2 day's and a little bit sore yesterday. Today not bad at all. I can certainly feel the hard work I've done.

DOMS will kick your *kitten* when you haven't worked out for a while but it will quickly fade and if you are convinced that is what you need you will quickly be sidetracked in pursuit of the burn rather than strength or fitness.

I suggest either finding another trainer, one with a sports background or a strength training background who can put you on a real strength training program. One that tracks progress not pain.

Or just do that your self, a 5x5 program will serve you well and is as simple as it gets.

Some days you may really feel it, most days you won't. But if you judge success by DOMS you will either get discouraged and quit or abandons the program and not get the results you want.

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MelissaPhippsFeagins

Katzedernacht wrote: »

I agree,I used to think if it didn't feel like dying I was being lazy but now, if it feels "easy" I add more weight or reps or increase ROM,I do get tired,sweat and oh lord ,leg day is never chill,but I am not super ultra sore all the time, just today, damn those romanian deadlifts.

You know you grew up dancing when leg day is always chill and DOMS is what happens after a 5k with no training. OTOH, I do have DOMS after mowing the back yard, which is a fairly steep hill. That is about the wicked angle of my ankles while pushing and pulling the mower with my quads and hamstrings. Had to be done. No regrets.

NekoneMeowMixx

Don't get me wrong-- I love me some DOMs. But I'm also still very new to lifting in the grand scheme of things, and therefore have come to expect them, specifically when I'm doing a lift or working a group of muscles that I haven't worked before, or haven't worked very often, or am increasing my weight. (Ex: when I went from 35 pounds to [incrementally] 50 pounds on bench press, and 2 days later I'm still sore). I don't think they're anything wrong with enjoying that burn, but I do agree that thinking you'll get automagically swole immediately after is foolish.

Honestly, I feel that how you feel during the workout is the best indicator of how you're doing. If you're pounding out 5 reps of 8 - 12 squats and you're barely above resting heart rate and just like "I could be reading a magazine, this is so easy", then yeah, you're probably not doing a whole lot other than just wasting your time. Once your body gets stronger and more accustomed to working the specific muscle groups/lifts, you're naturally going to hurt less and less afterwards. I personally don't see that as a bad thing. Like I said, I'm all about that burn during the workout...

boogiewookie

Thank you for the info! I learn something new here every day :-) Ive always thought if I'm not sore the next day I just didn't push myself hard enough. there have been quite a few times I have felt like I had a great workout but when I woke up and wasn't sore I figured it wasn't as effective so I start mixing it up (different lifts, switching from drop sets to pyramids, etc).and I can usually get that soreness back.

boogiewookie

I have a question, if a muscle group is sore can you still work it or is that counterproductive? Today is supposed to be leg day but my legs are so sore from lifting Wednesday and yesterdays cardio involved a lot of walking squats/lunges

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boogiewookie

I don't have a schedule, I know I really need to follow one but I switch it up every week or so. I write down all of my workouts as I go every week..since Sunday I've done upper, lower, rest, upper, lower, cardio (but my cardio smoked my legs) I am trying to lose weight and I'm.eating at a deficit but I push myself hard when I lift so I'm dropping weight pretty fast (15lbs in 40 days) and have gotten substantially stronger. I'm noticing new definition every week. sometimes when I'm under 1200cals for a few days I get week and my lifts suffer (very lightheaded and shakey) but I push as hard as I physically can. everyone says you can't build muscle on a deficit but I do feel like I am. maybe it's still noob gains? lol

boogiewookie

sorry I got off track, what I meant by counterproductive is I know that for muscle to grow you need time to recover so I was wondering if the soreness means you need More time to recover or it will hinder muscle growth. Im weird, I actually love the soreness

N200lz

When I do a weight workout I always follow it up with some aerobic to flush the lactic acid out of the muscle tissue. This seems to work well for me along with the post workout supplement Glutamine.

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dizzieblondeuk

I saw a study that had volunteers using either an ice or hot bath after exercising. The degree to which both those groups had massively reduced DOMS compared to the controlled group was amazing. BTW, there was negligable difference between the effects of an ice or hot bath - so I go with the hot bath every time! It also fits with my evening routine, and the bath is the first part of my nighttime wind down. I sleep really well after a work-out and bath too. And my muscle pain is pretty minimal. However, I'm currently nursing a bruised bottom from my first spin class! No bath can unbruise that, so I'm suffering a bit!

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Pittleydink

workout_freak89 wrote: »

DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness is the pain or soreness experienced typically several hours after workout

is DOMS related to how productive your workout was???

NO it' not

yet why do many people mistake the degree of post workout soreness to the efficacy of their workout??

Most common reason is instant feedback and lack of knowledge... in fact just think about it.. It even seems logical...harder the exercise more is the soreness..On top of this the bro science "i killed my legs yesterday bro! I can't even get up from my bed.... gonna get those killer quads by tomorrow!! " .another addition to the long list of fitness and health myths

unfortunately this is completely wrong and baseless as far as success of the workout depends...workouts can still be effective even if you’re not sore, because exercise is still effective after you stop getting sore from it...just because one is not experiencing the same level of post exercise soreness as when he first started out doesn't mean it's efficacy has reduced. It means that the body has adapted to the level of intensity

what about the muscle micro tear and micro trauma??
Muscle biopsy and electron microscopy shows that the reason for pain is connective tissue damage and inflammation in the area around the muscle tendon attachment where most of the sensory nerve fibers innervate. While it’s true that the method which stimulates the synthesis of new myofibrils ( components of muscle cell) owes its basis to the micro tears introduced in muscle fibers, however this process is NOT always accompanied by pain and soreness

classic case where the effect is mistaken for cause

if muscle soreness is not the indicator of success then what is??

Performance aka progressive overload
if you are lifting more weight than the previous workout then your last session was a hit. Congratulations!

Have a powerful day!!

Your explanation does not answer your question entirely. Basically all you told us was that you don't have to feel sore afterwards to have had a great workout. You didn't disprove your question of, "Does post workout Soreness mean you had a Killer Workout?" So I can still believe that being really sore after a workout means I got a killer workout, but I may still get a killer workout even if I don't feel sore afterwards.

hilts1969

Look at the guys or girls who are the best at what they do, do they push themselves to the limit or do they do 3x10 barely sweat then have a lie down, I am sure Arnie did 45 minutes 3 times a week one short of failure, I bet mo farah never got sore and Chris froome quit half way up the hill cause his thighs burnt

Pittleydink

I think it does mean you had a killer workout. Either that or you injured yourself.

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