Why does are body get sore after Weight lifting?

soldiergrl_101

I did Body Pump yesterday for the first time for an hour. I only had a 5lb weight on both sides. Today I can barley walk I am in so much pain. Why does this happen, are your muscles getting bigger/fat getting smaller? I work out all the time so my body is used to that...

vanguardfitness

Muscle damage, and probably damaging affects from waste products while working out. Not sure if it's been definitively proven (what muscle soreness is), but I remember years ago they mentioned things like lactic acid and calcium ions lingering in the muscle tissue.

collingmommy

U r using muscles you don't usually use that hard. And u used weight those small 5 lbs add up for an hour of pain!

rduhlir

Muscle damage, and probably damaging affects from waste products while working out. Not sure if it's been definitively proven (what muscle soreness is), but I remember years ago they mentioned things like lactic acid and calcium ions lingering in the muscle tissue.

This...lactic acid build up. I have some built up from running 3 days a row with no break this week (not used to doing that).

smc864

Your muscles become sore because of tiny tears in the muscle fibers from lifting weights (this can also occur when using one's body weight). To repair the damage your body accrues lactic acid in the muscles (which makes you feel sore) while the muscles repair themselves. This can also make you feel a little swollen in the area. Over time, if eating in a surplus, your muscles will grow. If you are eating at a deficit you will lose fat, but lifting weights/strength training doesn't immediately burn fat. While in a caloric deficit you can maintain the muscles you have by strength training, but will, most likely, not be building much muscle -- unless you are a beginner, in which case small gains can be made.

NathanielJL

When you lift weights heavier than normal or use weights during a session longer than normal, your body doesn't adapt to it, so it tries. However, at the end of the workout, your muscles are torn so it can grow back stronger. When you've done it multiple times, you'll notice you have gained a lot more muscle and lost fat during the process since muscle burns the fat away simultaneously. Thus, when you're strong enough, you'll get heavier weights, retrieve more muscle fibers to gain more muscle and get even more stronger. (pretty much goes in a cycle after that). That's why your muscles are sore.

keeptehpeace

I did about 50 push ups yesterday for fun and today my arms are sore as heck LOL I'm building up to eventually one day do handstand push ups.. one can dream :sad: :laugh:

stt43

There is debate over what causes it, no one really agrees. Some say it's from muscle breakdown, others say it's from the build up of waste products in your muscles, some say that while you sleep your muscles leave your body and go out drinking and then in the morning they ache because they are hungover, some say God does it to punish us, some say that if you swim in the sea at midnight during a full moon you will never get muscle pain again, some say there are no such things as muscles and this is all a dream, and some people don't think any of these things are true for some reason.

stt43

When you lift weights heavier than normal or use weights during a session longer than normal, your body doesn't adapt to it, so it tries. However, at the end of the workout, your muscles are torn so it can grow back stronger.

If you are tearing your muscles when you workout then you're doing it wrong.

keeptehpeace

When you lift weights heavier than normal or use weights during a session longer than normal, your body doesn't adapt to it, so it tries. However, at the end of the workout, your muscles are torn so it can grow back stronger.

If you are tearing your muscles when you workout then you're doing it wrong.

I thought the micro tears in your muscles are what causes your body to form muscle to get stronger?

smc864

When you lift weights heavier than normal or use weights during a session longer than normal, your body doesn't adapt to it, so it tries. However, at the end of the workout, your muscles are torn so it can grow back stronger.

If you are tearing your muscles when you workout then you're doing it wrong.

I thought the micro tears in your muscles are what causes your body to form muscle to get stronger?

You are correct!

stefjc

If you are tearing your muscles when you workout then you're doing it wrong.

Erm... if you don't tear your muscles when working out you won't get any benefit. As others have said, it is the micro tears that result from overloading muscle fibres that cause adaptation to the exercise done... no tears, no progress!

keeptehpeace

When you lift weights heavier than normal or use weights during a session longer than normal, your body doesn't adapt to it, so it tries. However, at the end of the workout, your muscles are torn so it can grow back stronger.

If you are tearing your muscles when you workout then you're doing it wrong.

I thought the micro tears in your muscles are what causes your body to form muscle to get stronger?

You are correct!

yay, I only know that because I used to talk to scooby of scooby's workshop, it was the one bit of info I think I retained, woo! :drinker: :bigsmile:

madds2

I felt like I was hit in the thighs with a baseball bat for 3 days after my first body pump class . After my next class that following week it didn't hurt at all like the first week. It's actually a fun workout that I enjoy and man you can really wind up sweating in that class.

janer4jc

There is debate over what causes it, no one really agrees. ... some say that while you sleep your muscles leave your body and go out drinking and then in the morning they ache because they are hungover,

This is a new one.

stt43

If you are tearing your muscles when you workout then you're doing it wrong.

Erm... if you don't tear your muscles when working out you won't get any benefit. As others have said, it is the micro tears that result from overloading muscle fibres that cause adaptation to the exercise done... no tears, no progress!

No, a muscle tear is a serious injury and will stop you training for a while with no benefit. Nobody should be encouraged to injure themselves in such a way, but if you do here's how to treat it: http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-a-Torn-Muscle

jackielou867

I have been lifting and doing pump for several weeks and barely any soreness. This week I dug my garden for 3 hours, and next day I could barely move. So I am hoping to see some big *kitten* muscles next week :-)

eblakes93

If you are tearing your muscles when you workout then you're doing it wrong.

Erm... if you don't tear your muscles when working out you won't get any benefit. As others have said, it is the micro tears that result from overloading muscle fibres that cause adaptation to the exercise done... no tears, no progress!

No, a muscle tear is a serious injury and will stop you training for a while with no benefit. Nobody should be encouraged to injure themselves in such a way, but if you do here's how to treat it: http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-a-Torn-Muscle

I think y'all are talking about two different things: micro tears in your muscle causing soreness after exercise, which is normal versus a big tearing of a ligament, which is an injury.

NathanielJL

When you lift weights heavier than normal or use weights during a session longer than normal, your body doesn't adapt to it, so it tries. However, at the end of the workout, your muscles are torn so it can grow back stronger.

If you are tearing your muscles when you workout then you're doing it wrong.

Yeah what I mean was minor tears in the muscles not major ones. If they are major, then you'll be out of the gym for longer and you won't be able to get back to what you truly wanted to do (getting fit). But yes, micro tears in muscles help with rebuilding muscles for them to call more muscle fibers and reconstruct bigger and stronger for the next time you go. For the past 8 weeks, I've noticed that I've gotten from 20kg to 30kg to 40kg in chest press. That's because my chest muscles managed to recruit more muscle fibers over the past 8 weeks after having micro-tears. Now I'm able to see a bigger chest, and it has more shape to it than ever before. So yes, I know I'm doing it right. If I didn't, then I wouldn't have noticed any progress.