No DOMS since starting program...but

dafoots0911

I have not experienced any DOMS since I began this program and did workout 24B today. But Monday, I did a circuit workout and my *kitten* was sore. It consisted of 3 circuits and various exercises. The weights were lighter so why did I get sore with the lighter weights and more reps but have not felt any muscle soreness with the heavier weights?

Also, no matter how you slice it my *kitten* is getting bigger with the heavier squats so I am going to have to stop at 100lbs until I lose a little more weight. Love the legs but can't handle a big butt since it was kinda (really) big from the start. Not flabby but not real tight but bigger than I want it to be. Can't do nothing about that but I really don't want it any bigger. Husband is fine with it but I'm not.

jstout365

I get DOMS from some of the accessory work and not from the heavy stuff. Good Mornings, lunges, and pistol squats leave me sore for days. For me, I think I get the DOMS from that because I haven't really been training to do those movements so the use of the muscle is just different enough that it kicks on the soreness.

bumblebums

The absence of DOMS does not indicate the absence of progress. I only get DOMS in some muscles (the weaker ones, such as hamstrings and adductors).

Are you eating at a deficit? Because honestly, if you are, your butt cannot be getting bigger. You should be losing intramuscular and subcutaneous fat while not gaining any appreciable muscle mass...

edit:

There are certain types of exercises that are more likely to cause DOMS than others. Eccentric exercise, where the muscle lengthens during the exertion, are more likely to cause DOMS than concentric ones (where the muscle shortens). For example, if you do negative chin-ups, where you lower yourself from the bar slowly, your biceps will get more sore than from regular chin-ups.

kirabob

It's very possible that your butt is changing shape - not getting bigger, per se, but lifting up, and in the process, rearranging any fat over and around the muscle. . .as Bumblebums points out, lifting at a deficit won't really add muscle, but it will definitely sculpt it and reshape everything. My booty, for instance, has crept about 3 inches up the back of my legs since I started lifting (I was excited, since I have flat-booty syndrome. ). So while you can certainly hold squats at 100 if you want to, you could also keep progressing - the extra work will help burn more fat, which will eventually reveal that newly defined muscle.

And yes, I pretty much only get DOMS in smaller muscles with unfamiliar movements.

bumblebums

It's very possible that your butt is changing shape - not getting bigger, per se, but lifting up, and in the process, rearranging any fat over and around the muscle. . .as Bumblebums points out, lifting at a deficit won't really add muscle, but it will definitely sculpt it and reshape everything. My booty, for instance, has crept about 3 inches up the back of my legs since I started lifting (I was excited, since I have flat-booty syndrome. ). So while you can certainly hold squats at 100 if you want to, you could also keep progressing - the extra work will help burn more fat, which will eventually reveal that newly defined muscle.

And yes, I pretty much only get DOMS in smaller muscles with unfamiliar movements.

Same here--my butt is perkier and rounder now, but I've lost a few inches off my hips nonetheless.

jstout365

My booty, for instance, has crept about 3 inches up the back of my legs since I started lifting (I was excited, since I have flat-booty syndrome. ).

That is called "Two eggs in a hanky" at my house My husband suffers from that as well.

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

Oh my *kitten* has always been big but now it's big, shapely, and perky! I say embrace that booty and swing it around, shakin' what Mama (and heavy lifting) gave ya!

I'm obsessed with my *kitten* now. All I do is check it out and admire the perkiness

dafoots0911

It's very possible that your butt is changing shape - not getting bigger, per se, but lifting up, and in the process, rearranging any fat over and around the muscle. . .as Bumblebums points out, lifting at a deficit won't really add muscle, but it will definitely sculpt it and reshape everything. My booty, for instance, has crept about 3 inches up the back of my legs since I started lifting (I was excited, since I have flat-booty syndrome. ). So while you can certainly hold squats at 100 if you want to, you could also keep progressing - the extra work will help burn more fat, which will eventually reveal that newly defined muscle.

And yes, I pretty much only get DOMS in smaller muscles with unfamiliar movements.

Kirabob, thanks for this. When you say "hold squats and keep progressing" is that to say staying at 100 will still help me burn the fat? Stomach needs work also. But I think increasing my calories was not a good idea. I am 54 and I don't care what some say but it is hard as h#!! to lose this extra weight. I am 5'4 and 150 but it seems the inches I had lost has come back with the heavy lifting. The scale has not changed but my clothes are tighter. So any advice would be appreciated.

ewartluft

Kirabob, thanks for this. When you say "hold squats and keep progressing" is that to say staying at 100 will still help me burn the fat? Stomach needs work also. But I think increasing my calories was not a good idea. I am 54 and I don't care what some say but it is hard as h#!! to lose this extra weight. I am 5'4 and 150 but it seems the inches I had lost has come back with the heavy lifting. The scale has not changed but my clothes are tighter. So any advice would be appreciated.

My clothes have also been getting tighter except my weight's going up also. I'm not new to lifting so I was prepared for the numbers on the scale to climb but I was definitely not expecting my waist measurement to go up as well :noway: . I've had 2 children and the waist measurement was the one I really wanted to see shrink.

kirabob

You really do have to be patient. I had been lifting for four months before my waist measurement started shrinking. 4 months. And I've been the same weight for the last 3 months. But in that time I've gone from a 16 pant to an 8/10. And since I started lifting in March, I have dropped 8% of my body fat. I do cardio maybe 30 minutes a week and eat at a 15% deficit. In terms of size, I'm not that different - 5'4" and 160. Given, I'm 39, and I know it's harder to lose fat as you age - but the lifting helps you maintain the muscles that are so critical to that process.

To answer your question - yes, for a while, squatting that same 100 pounds will continue to be hard work, but with time it will stop being hard, and you might not get as much benefit. But you could also progress - maybe just slow it down, adding weight only 1x a week, or every other week, so that your muscles stay challenged. Also, when you start lifting, there is a period of time where your muscles hold on to extra water so that they can store the glycogen they need to fuel your lifts - eventually that will even out and all of a sudden your clothes will be loose!

I had all my measurements bump up a bit the first two months, but after the 3 month mark, the fat started melting away and I had these awesome muscles underneath. If you keep at it, the same thing will happen for you. Just remember, you can't really *add* muscle if you are lifting on a deficit - the laws of physics just don't work that way. Give your body time, keep lifting, stay at a comfortable deficit (i.e. not too steep - nothing over 20% for sure) and will be well.

Edited for my copious typos. Geesh.