Should you be sore every time after you lift?

alex_thomas8

Recently, I have not been experiencing nearly as much soreness the day after a heavy lift. I have tried changing up the number of reps, duration of rest, heavier weight, etc. over the past few weeks to try and challenge myself more and change up my routine. I know that breaking down muscle tissue is important to building lean mass, but does lack of or reduced soreness mean I didn't work hard enough? I definitely feel like I'm working hard enough when I'm at the gym. And, I do one "fail set" every 2 weeks or so for bench, squat, bicep curl, calf raise, and pull ups. Is this normal?

bekahlou75

I'm in for the answers. Yesterday and the day before my legs and arms are wobbly leaving the gym but not sore the next day.

alex_thomas8

Exactly, I felt the same way yesterday in my arms after doing fail sets on bicep curl and shoulder press and I feel fine this morning. It's been happening more and more recently.

3dogsrunning

No, you don't have to be sore everytime.

JCLondonUK

Also in for the wisdom (although I am sore today!).

SezxyStef

To be honest I have only ever been sore once in my 6 months of lifting heavy...I mean sore...and that was after taking 12 days off during vacation.

DOMS is not an indicator of a good workout...

I was a little sore yesterday after a good session with benching on MOnday but I really didn't notice it at all until I made an odd movement with my arm.

Chieflrg

Recently, I have not been experiencing nearly as much soreness the day after a heavy lift. I have tried changing up the number of reps, duration of rest, heavier weight, etc. over the past few weeks to try and challenge myself more and change up my routine. I know that breaking down muscle tissue is important to building lean mass, but does lack of or reduced soreness mean I didn't work hard enough? I definitely feel like I'm working hard enough when I'm at the gym. And, I do one "fail set" every 2 weeks or so for bench, squat, bicep curl, calf raise, and pull ups. Is this normal?

If it is DOMS your are referring to, it has no coloration on how hard you worked your muscles. If you are just referring to general soreness of muscles, the muscles adjust over time to certain exercise and things get easier as strength is built. This is why a progressive overload routine is recommended.

Depending what your goals are I would stick to a certain set/rep range unless you are doing accessory work.

I see you are eating at a deficit. You cannot build lean muscle mass while eating at a deficit, this can only be done at a surplus, I feel it can be done at maintenance, although it takes much longer and your diet has to be spot on.

I personally don't like the fail set, unless you are on point with your form and have some serious experience lifting. I think it does more harm than good. If eating at a surplus, you will gain more muscle using precise form with a lighter weight than, broken form with a heavy weight.

Good luck.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

I get disappointed if I'm not.

Kita328

I understand the thought...but NO. You dont have to be sore to be effective...

ruth_jb

Glad to hear you don't need to be sore. I've been doing weights in an effort to tone up, I am currently suffering ab pain from a work out on Tuesday but my legs don't seem to be getting sore at all despite upping the weight and doing more reps. Nice to know it's worth the effort either way!

iRun_Butterfly

I was just wondering this myself. My level of soreness has declined dramatically over the past month or so. I'm experiencing more muscle soreness after running then after lifting.

JoRocka

I was just wondering this myself. My level of soreness has declined dramatically over the past month or so. I'm experiencing more muscle soreness after running then after lifting.

you're body is amazing at adapting.

Really all "sore" means is that you did something you haven't done in a long while.

It goes like this (none working out) for a lot of people
OMG I CAN'T WALK I CAN"T SIT DOWN I CAN"T GO UP STAIRS

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN"T FUNCTION....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I"LL NEVER MAKE IT!!!!!!!!
to
Oh this is amazing- I feel great- no soreness- getting stronger!!!
man- I miss the days when I get sore- now I'm just tired and tired all over
does something random- oh this is what sore feels like- ah I love that feeling....
then nothing but tired and achy but strong
then it's like- oh that feeling again.

LOL

katherineduweck

You don't have to be sore for your workout to have been effective. When I had a personal trainer she taught me to warm up a bit if it was first thing in the morning, lift enough weight to feel fatigued (not to the point of fail) after 10 reps but able to do 3 challenging sets, and stretch afterwards. (Stretching should not cause pain, your flexibility will increase over time.)
After a couple weeks of a little stiffness after workouts, and stiffness after significantly increasing weight or taking a break from lifting for a couple weeks, my body was feeling normal or better than usual. This has been true as I work out at home as well.
If you continue to be sore after every workout, I'm actually a bit concerned and would suggest you have a couple sessions with a personal trainer to check posture, technique, etc. or see your doctor for suggestions on how to keep post workout life much more comfortable.
Good luck and good job keeping your workouts challenging!

rybo

As already stated you do not have to be sore all the time. Honestly I could not imagine being so sore from my workouts every day. I would never ever want that.

ninerbuff

Think of it this way:

You start taking tennis and the next week or so you're sore from all the running and plyometric work. A month later there's no longer any soreness yet, you're still doing the same exact work, but now you're much better at tennis.

Lifting weights is the same. The body adapts quickly to whatever environment it's exposed to. Certain changes in angle of exercises, resistance or the actual exercise itself can promote soreness again since different stabilizer or secondary muscles get recruited.

One could be a really good at leg work and have great legs with no soreness, but then run sprints and be hobbled the next day from soreness.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

bradXdale

No.

As long as my strength gains are progressive I could care less if I'm sore or not. A lot of beginners look at it as a way of gauging whether or not they trained or worked out hard enough.

Like I said as long as my numbers are progressing, I'm hitting all my sets & reps, then that is good enough for me.

-bxd

BusyRaeNOTBusty

No. Being sore is not an indicator of workout quality.

TheStephil

As already stated you do not have to be sore all the time. Honestly I could not imagine being so sore from my workouts every day. I would never ever want that.

I agree. I try my hardest not to take long breaks so I can avoid soreness.

Chain_Ring

Seems like the more you do it, the less sore you are. Then again, I'm no expert; I just go w/ how I feel........ha ha

The_Godwin_72

My Body builds tolerance to move and weights. Muscles need to have tiny mirco tearing of fibers and as it repairs you create larger muscles of better definition. It's all in what you want. I don't shoot for sore but i like some tenderness in the muscle.

Strokingdiction

I hope not or I'm doing it wrong. And if that's the case, I don't think I want to be right. I can't imagine continuing to do something that caused me pain every time.

alex_thomas8

Thanks for your response. I'm actually trying to drop another 15 lbs or so of body fat. At that point, I'll probably increase my nutrtion to around 22-2500 calories to start making more gains. I'm definitely seeing differences in muscle definition and athletic ability...overall I just feel stronger. I'm guessing it would be a good idea to focus on the weight loss first?

alex_thomas8

Nobody likes that "OMG I can't move" soreness, I'm more talking about the stiffness, achiness, etc. I've been going at this for a few months and joined MFP a few weeks ago just to help track my diet a little better. I played water polo and swam in college and we would do two-a-days a few times a week and I never gave it a second thought. We did some lifting, but only in the mornings twice a week and I always remember having DOMS the day after. Maybe I'm just getting in better shape, who knows.

Kinseykick

Make sure you are getting enough protein to build up those muscles! Plenty of water before and during then a high protein meal after to help build those muscles instead of leaving them undernourished . Afterward make sure you stretch and cool down properly with lots of deep breathing to get the blood and oxygen flowing back into the muscles. Lastly if you are still sore you can put Icy Hot or some other cream on the area to generate a heat and cooling feeling that will bring blood to the area to promote healing of the tired muscles.

Hopefully that helps and you can recover to get back in the gym! I have a love-hate relationship with being sore. I love the feeling because it makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere but I don't like being overly sore to the point I can't go to the gym!

Morgaath

I used to cut grass for a living, which meant that each spring I would spend the first 2 weeks coming home exhausted and sore, barely able to move.
Week 3 was just sore.
Week 4 I would go dancing on the weekends, not even thinking about all the walking I had been doing.
The body adjust to it's new level of normal.

geebusuk

It's rare that I get sore from doing a routine I do regularly - when it's new I probably will, but as I get used to it I stop getting DOMS etc.
Same for weights or cardio.