Not sore after lifting - Does that mean I'm not lifting enou

whyflysouth

When I first started lifting my muscles would be sore the next couple days and I'd give it 3-4 days before returning to lifting with that muscle group. The next time I'll try to gradually increase the weight by 12-15 lbs or so on at least one of my sets (I'm usually doing 3-4 sets of each exercise). After being at it a few weeks now I'm noticing that I'm not sore the next day and I'm wondering if that means I should lift at significantly more weight or if I should keep going at the rate I'm at right now?

Should I be expecting muscle soreness the day after I lift or not? Does a lack of next day muscle soreness mean I'm not lifting enough?

Thanks.

OddSquid

That just means that your muscles have adapted to the fact that you're going to be beating them up regularly. Don't use soreness as a gauge of how hard you worked.

Your last three reps of any given set should be difficult to complete. THAT is your gauge of whether you're using the proper amount of weight.

freedMan

Possibly. There could be any number of reasons for this but let me share what I've experienced. When I first lift, I got sore, just as you have. After while I would become less sore, which I believe is normal because I'm training my muscles to become used. However, at this point I changed how I did things. If you want to gain muscle mass, you should strive for 3-4 sets at 8-10 reps each. You should not be able to lift/pull/push that weight no matter how hard you try after 8-10 reps. This means you've pushed to failure. If you lift/push /pull weights at 12 reps or more you are simply "maintaining your muscle mass, and not gaining muscle size".

You should be sore after lifting using this method for a least the next 24 hours. At first I was sore for days afterward, now my recovery time is less than 24 hours. Just remember, if you're sore, your building new muscle, if your not sore, your just maintaining your muscle!

Again, I am no expert, but this is my experience. Perhaps a fitness professional could validate my observations/experience.

celestrialgal

You may want to change things up. Do on an incline or decline. Change things up like close grip or wide grip, look for different exercises to work the same muscles. If you do machines use free weights, or bands. You should be sore after your workouts if you are fatiguing your muscles after your set is done. Use more weight and you won't have to do so many sets, I set to fatigue is fine, if you can find that perfect weight. BTW, I am a certified personal trainer.

whyflysouth

Hmm, so here's an example. Yesterday I did 5 sets of bench press (machine):

100 lbs @ 10 reps
112.5 lbs @ 12 reps
112.5 lbs @ 10 reps
112.5 lbs @ 8 reps
112.5 lbs @ 5 reps

I wanted those last 2 sets to get to 10 reps but I couldn't push them any further than I had.

Today my pecs feel ... different, not sore but a little tight. In the past it used to be so sore the next day that putting on a shirt would be a chore. Note, I've only started lifting for about a month now, prior to that I wasn't lifting for at least a year.

stormieweather

Question on this...I lift to failure but am not overly sore the next day. However, the 2nd day after? OMG! That's when it really hits me. By the 3rd day, I'm past the majority of the discomfort. Am I weird? (don't answer that!), rather, are my muscles weird?? :laugh:

mbowen

Question on this...I lift to failure but am not overly sore the next day. However, the 2nd day after? OMG! That's when it really hits me. By the 3rd day, I'm past the majority of the discomfort. Am I weird? (don't answer that!), rather, are my muscles weird??

My muscles hurt the same way. It is not the day after but the following day. I thought it was strange, it throws off my exercise routine. I plan on lifting every other day, but when my muscles are super sore on the third day, I can't keep to the schedule.

pkgirrl

stormieweather - not weird at all haha! The soreness afters is known as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) And for most it sets in between 24-48hours. I'm on that late side with you.. day after, no problem, but the next day's the killer haha!

tinasullens

It depends on if you're wanting to maintain your muscle mass or gain. If you're satisfied with what you've accomplished so far and want to maintain, then stay with the weight you are using and you won't be sore. If you want to keep building, then increase your weight and do less reps.

What I would do is cut it down to 3 sets and increase your weight and aim for 8-10 reps. Your last 3 reps of each set should be difficult if you want to build.

lt_mrcook

If you're improving keep going. If you stagnate, change it up a bit.

whyflysouth

Thanks for all the advice everybody. I guess I'll lower the number of sets down to 3 and go with higher weights and lower reps. I do want to build up some more mass. My initial idea was to slim down lower my body fat % and then build up muscle but the weight loss has plateaued so I'm thinking to build up the muscle first and revisit my weight loss attempts some time in the future. I'm 5'7 at 160 right now and ideally I'd like to be 150 with allot more muscle mass and allot less fat :happy:

freedMan

Hmm, so here's an example. Yesterday I did 5 sets of bench press (machine):

100 lbs @ 10 reps
112.5 lbs @ 12 reps
112.5 lbs @ 10 reps
112.5 lbs @ 8 reps
112.5 lbs @ 5 reps

I wanted those last 2 sets to get to 10 reps but I couldn't push them any further than I had.

Today my pecs feel ... different, not sore but a little tight. In the past it used to be so sore the next day that putting on a shirt would be a chore. Note, I've only started lifting for about a month now, prior to that I wasn't lifting for at least a year.

Based on this I would tell you to change it up this way. I calculated your "One Rep Max" to be around 155 pounds. This means you could lift 155lbs on the bench one time. For me the best method is this:
Set 1 - Warm up set ~60% ORM(One Rep Max) Your weight = 90lbs (10-12 reps, just to get the blood pumping)
Set 2 - 80% ORM - Your weight = 124lbs x 8-10 reps(make sure you reach muscle failure!)
Set 2 - 75% ORM - Your weight = 115lbs x 8-10 reps(make sure you reach muscle failure!)
Set 3 - 70% ORM - Your weight = 109lbs x 8-10 reps(make sure you reach muscle failure!)

If you cant reach 8 reps for these sets, or lift more than 10, then make some adjustments to get this to work just right for you.

This is a percentage approach and has been effective for me!

whyflysouth

Based on this I would tell you to change it up this way. I calculated your "One Rep Max" to be around 155 pounds. This means you could lift 155lbs on the bench one time. For me the best method is this:
Set 1 - Warm up set ~60% ORM(One Rep Max) Your weight = 90lbs (10-12 reps, just to get the blood pumping)
Set 2 - 80% ORM - Your weight = 124lbs x 8-10 reps(make sure you reach muscle failure!)
Set 2 - 75% ORM - Your weight = 115lbs x 8-10 reps(make sure you reach muscle failure!)
Set 3 - 70% ORM - Your weight = 109lbs x 8-10 reps(make sure you reach muscle failure!)

If you cant reach 8 reps for these sets, or lift more than 10, then make some adjustments to get this to work just right for you.

This is a percentage approach and has been effective for me!

Great! I'll give this a try next chest & shoulders day. I split my week into:

day 1 back/biceps (lat pull, machine row, dumbell curls),
day 2 cardio only
day 3 chest/triceps/shoulders (bench, machine flys, incline bench, tricep pulldown, shoulder press, front raise),
day 4 cardio only
and 5 glutes/quads/hamstrings/calves (leg press, leg curls, quad leg lifts, calf raise).
day 6 cardio only

imagymrat

You may want to change things up. Do on an incline or decline. Change things up like close grip or wide grip, look for different exercises to work the same muscles. If you do machines use free weights, or bands. You should be sore after your workouts if you are fatiguing your muscles after your set is done. Use more weight and you won't have to do so many sets, I set to fatigue is fine, if you can find that perfect weight. BTW, I am a certified personal trainer.

WRONG!!! and you're a trainer, did I misunderstand?? muscle soreness can be caused by three hypothesis( muscle damage, tissue damage, muscle spasms) resulting in cumulative micro trauma resulting in some type of cellular damage. At times, this can be the leading cause of overtraining and being uncomfortable for a few days after training. Being sore most always leads to damage, stress, and overtraining to the body, a mild soreness is a-ok, but when you can't wipe your a** after using the facilities, you've done damage, and you need to recover....the tightening that you felt is your indication that you've worked hard enough,. Have you tried supersets? or I see that you have a schedule that you follow, mess with it, maybe bi's and tri's/legs one day do your sets with little to no rest in btw, shake it up a bit to make your body work differently and it will respond in like, but you don't want to be in pain afterwards, make sure you're recovering properly as well, eating protein, stretching, sleeping well....and you need to up your calorie intake to accomodate the muscle mass you're building, I eat an extra 400 calories....you need not be sore after a workout to gain muscle mass, you need to workout smart, and make sure that you avoid injury that could lead to time off at the gym.

whyflysouth

Here's the problem: I wear an HRM and with kind of workouts I'm doing (usually 30-70 min aerobic warmup on the treadmill or elliptical then 30 min lifting) the calories burnt ends up being over 1000. That along with some other activities in my day will bump me up close to 3000 calories total according to MFP - Ultimately I'm looking to lose the fact and not gain weight (muscle, but not get any heavier). Do I really have to eat all that (I mean yesterday it wanted me to eat 235g of protein - that's crazy!)?

freedMan

When on a calorie deficit, you will lose weight, not gain(over a time period), no mater what. If its your goal to lose weight AND gain muscle, you have it all wrong. Professional bodybuilders(those that do not dope) know the secret and thats to bulk up(eating excess calories, mostly protein) while lifting HEAVY weights(Sometimes they do 3-4 reps, or even less!) he point is they go to failure, EVERYTIME, then they go on a calorie deficit to lose the accumulated fat. To gain muscle AND lose weight at the same time will be impossible and the science behind it says so! You have to have a calorie surplus to gain body mass(muscle or fat). Believe me, if you could gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, no drugs would be needed.

And yes, you do need to eat your excercise calories. If not, your metabolism will think its not getting enough, therby storing new foods as fat in anticipation of not having food in the future. Constantly feed yourself, but space it out. I eat at 7,10,noon,3,6,9. You could do the same and eat 500 calories per meal and meet your goal of 3000. I am never hungry doing this and sometimes have to pace myself (e.g. eat 250 calories at 3pm and another 250 calories an hour later) Think of your body as an engine with a 1 gallon tank. You would need to stop and fuel it during the course of a trip quite often. If you overfill(overeat) then the gas spills out(stores as fat), whereas if you forget to fill it(forget to eat), your car will run out of fuel and sputter to a stop(no energy).

235g may seem like a lot but its the right target grams of protein if you are lifting weights and weight approx 235 pounds. If you are trying to lose weight, this target is not reasonable because your on a calorie deficit therby making 1/3 of your calories proteins (235grams x 4 calories/gram) roughly 940 calories. I make it a goal to eat at least 100g while on a calorie deficit to encourage my muscles to maintain their mass while on a deficit. While on a surplus, I make sure to eat every gram of the recommended intake.

whyflysouth

I hear ya ncblazek, I started this year with a goal to lose the weight, to get back down to 150 preferably and have a 13% or under body fat %. Mainly get rid of the gut and be more athletic. I was at 166 at the time and relatively rapidly I went down to 160 after one month of eating at 1200 cals (way below my supposed BMR at near 1700), down to 159, got stuck there for a few weeks and decided I was maybe in survival so I upped my calories more in line with MFP making my goal 1690 per day but I also starting lifting at the same time. I gained 1.5 lbs, and for the next 2 weeks my weight has stablized there at 160, today It's down to 159.4 but I've got so frustrated with the attempts to lose the weight that I'm thinking of keeping my caloric deficit and just lifting more.

The ultimate physique that I'd like is:
sub 13% body fat
strong muscles
and maintain 160 lbs.

I fear if I focus on building muscle mass and go up to 170 lbs for instance, it will be really hard for me to go down to 160 lbs when I want to focus on the fat % later.

Azdak

You may want to change things up. Do on an incline or decline. Change things up like close grip or wide grip, look for different exercises to work the same muscles. If you do machines use free weights, or bands. You should be sore after your workouts if you are fatiguing your muscles after your set is done. Use more weight and you won't have to do so many sets, I set to fatigue is fine, if you can find that perfect weight. BTW, I am a certified personal trainer.

Maybe we need to make sure we are defining our terms.

A hard strength workout can leave you feeling fatigued, maybe even a little stiff the next day. That is a natural result of any hard workout--weights, metabolic training, 20 mile run, etc. When I think of the term "soreness" I am thinking of DOMS, the type of soreness that sets in the day after a workout, peaks in about 48 hours and can take up to 5 days to resolve.

If you are recommending that you "should" experience DOMS after your workouts, that that is a desired goal, then I would strongly disagree. To me, that type of thinking reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of both DOMS and the mechanisms of tissue remodeling that occur with resistance training.

whyflysouth

Good distinction Azdak, yes to clarify I'm no longer experiencing DOMS the day or two after I workout. My muscles feel a little tight today and I think that if I benched today I would definitely not be able to do the amount of weight and number of reps I did yesterday but I'm not getting that "it's hurts to put on my tight undershirt" kinda pain I remember experiencing in the past.

So should you want to push yourself to the point where you get DOMS or not?

Azdak

Good distinction Azdak, yes to clarify I'm no longer experiencing DOMS the day or two after I workout. My muscles feel a little tight today and I think that if I benched today I would definitely not be able to do the amount of weight and number of reps I did yesterday but I'm not getting that "it's hurts to put on my tight undershirt" kinda pain I remember experiencing in the past.

So should you want to push yourself to the point where you get DOMS or not?

In my professional opinion: no. DOMS in some degree can be an aftereffect of a workout, esp if you are introducing a new exercise or even a new routine, but I do not think it should be a goal. It serves no useful purpose and can have negative results.

Again, I make the distinction between someone just starting out and a more experienced lifter. There is absolutely no reason for a new lifter to push themselves to the point where they experience severe DOMS. A beginner need only lift enough weight to more or less "learn" where the muscles are and they will start to improve. Starting off easy and taking a frequent baby steps of improvement will get you into shape just as fast as overdoing it and suffering through DOMS.

A more experienced lifter can often modify a routine or try a new exercise without experiencing soreness to as great a degree. However, it still makes sense to introduce new movements gradually. Spend the first couple of sessions learning proper form.

Obviously, part of any workout routine is having days where you challenge yourself and push your boundaries. That should not be a regular thin, however.