Is sore-ness the only indicator of an effective workout?

libra1021

I'm noticing that even though I've increased my reps, my sets and my weights, I'm not sore the day after what I thought was an intense workout. My muscles still shake and I still have to pause and re-group in the middle of my sets but the next day I hardly feel like I worked out at all?

You too?

pixiepandora

This happens to me too... sometimes I only ache a little for around 15 mins right after a workout and then I can quite esily forget that I even did it. But I notice changes in my body... looking slightly slimmer, muscles looking more defined... this is how I can tell that my workouts are effective even if my body doesnt react to them the way i thought it would xx

ldarter

Yes, I personally wouldn't consider soreness as an indicator of workout effectiveness to be something I'd aspire for. With cardio it is relatively simple to gauge effectiveness by using a heart rate monitor and in some respects I think would also be useful for strength training too. But as pixiepandora mentioned, noticing more muscular definition and weight loss would also be good indicators, just not an immediate form of positive feedback since those changes occur over time. Minor soreness is just a part of beginning a consistent exercise program but once you have established exercise as a habit, soreness is more often an indicator of doing too much rather than doing enough.

Azdak

Soreness can mean:

A: You did something new and didn't realize what you were doing.

B. You did something new and didn't regulate your intensity particularly well.

C. Nothing at all, except that you're sore.

What soreness DOESN"T mean is that you had a more effective workout. Maybe you did and maybe you didn't, but the soreness has nothing to do with it one way or the other.

Good workouts can sometimes result in soreness--really stupid ones can too.

sendmoretigers

additionally, soreness, particularly one that lingers, can signify that you've injured yourself in some way, which could be from overdoing an exercise or doing it incorrectly. take note if you are always sore after a particular exercise as you may need to adjust your technique. generally, soreness, as oppposed to actual pain, isn't a big deal but it is your body telling you something and you should pay attention to it. you may need to adjust what you're doing in some way, which is fine because variety is great for exercise. don't grade your workouts on how sore you are or aren't though.

whyflysouth

the real key is to ensure you are pushing your muscles to exhaustion on your last reps. As everyone else has mentioned, soreness usually occurs when you are challenging your muscles in a way they aren't used to, so as you get more athletic, it will diminish.

For me, the next day soreness isn't there but what I do notice is that the muscles are weaker. Not sore, but not as strong as they were the day before. For example, on the workout day I may do 3 sets of 8 pull-ups, the next day I won't be sore but I find that I can't do more than 5 pull-ups before giving in. So I do notice my strength is less on the recovery days. How strong are you the next day - could you challenge your muscles with the same kind of workout again and find that it can handle it?

libra1021

this reply is very helpful, thank you

and yes, when I feel the sore-ness the next day and it interferes with my ability to repeat the same workout I did the day before, I follow my body's lead.

I do notice a definite difference between the regular strain from the effort of the workout vs. the times my body is screaming at me "haha this particular exercise is just NOT gonna happen today, Kid" and when my body (read: biceps) are protesting, I don't push them as hard as I will push the parts of my body that aren't screaming.

Dom_m

My best trainer always says if it hurts you're doing it wrong. Pain is the body's way of telling you that the choices you're making aren't the best ones.

ekrueger002

Soreness lasting more than 2 hrs post workout is a sign of over exertion. If you continually break the muscle down to the point of pain it will not have time to regenerate and grow.

Try not to do the same muscle group 2 days in a row....keep a day or so between.

Slowly graduate into the training. If you don't feel tired at all post workout step it up a bit next time. If you feel sore the next day step it back down.

Granted I am assuming here you are looking for tone/strength and not pro wrestling "guns" :-)

Murdog

Perhaps, the lack of soreness is the possability that your muscles have developed a higher lactic-acid threshold. Primarily, due to the muscles worked are getting stronger. And I agree with all the other posters... don't shoot for sore muscles--this could lead to injury. In fact, it would be who of you, if you ever are sore anymore, to give your muscles a break until the soreness subsides (for future reference).

Have a great evening, everybody!:drinker:

Murdog

Perhaps, the lack of soreness is the possability that your muscles have developed a higher lactic-acid threshold. Primarily, due to the muscles worked are getting stronger. And I agree with all the other posters... don't shoot for sore muscles--this could lead to injury. In fact, it would be who of you, if you ever are sore anymore, to give your muscles a break until the soreness subsides (for future reference).

Have a great evening, everybody!:drinker:

imagymrat

the real key is to ensure you are pushing your muscles to exhaustion on your last reps. As everyone else has mentioned, soreness usually occurs when you are challenging your muscles in a way they aren't used to, so as you get more athletic, it will diminish.

For me, the next day soreness isn't there but what I do notice is that the muscles are weaker. Not sore, but not as strong as they were the day before. For example, on the workout day I may do 3 sets of 8 pull-ups, the next day I won't be sore but I find that I can't do more than 5 pull-ups before giving in. So I do notice my strength is less on the recovery days. How strong are you the next day - could you challenge your muscles with the same kind of workout again and find that it can handle it?

I agree with you on pushing your muscles to exhaustion, but generally that rule really only applies if you're looking to gain muscle mass...I push really heavy weight, for example, bicep curls with 40lb dumbells, I push out six with a static 5 count hold, my biceps burn like h*ll, in the morning i'll feel a tightening in my bicep, but not pain or soreness. I believe that if you are looking to tone and sculpt the weight is moderate and you should feel little discomfort after 20 minutes post workout, if you don't it doesn't mean that you're not working the muscle. I find that the problem almost always rests on the fact that the exercise is being performed incorrectly, so many people have no clue what proper form is, the weight is too light, the exercise is performed too quickly and lastly you've rested too long in between sets. If you don't already try to superset your weight workouts, and never ever weight train the same muscle group twice in a row, bad idea, you need to let that muscle heal itself it needs to recover, if you feel that you can lift easily the same muscle group the next day, then you need to desperately change this up. My weight routine changes every 4 weeks, and even then on let's say bicep days, i'm always changing up the exercises or the angle. One day i'll work bicep and back, the next bicep day will be paired with tricep work, maybe superset, maybe like today working the negative... Good luck

blockeramanda

I just started to do workout. i bought the Biggest Loser Cardio Max DVD and did level one yesterday and today i did the same DVD along with the Biggest Loser Power Scuplt DVD..the only soreness i have is in my back thighs and lower booty so I'm assuming that I should not do either DVD's tomorrow since I did them both today???

aliensheep0

In the past, I have a few times where I've done weight lifting, then stop, then picked it up again a few years later, then stopped, and over and over. Each time I started lifting, my muscles would be sore for days, but after the second week or so, the soreness stopped. So I'm pretty sure soreness is connected to your muscles getting used to a new routine. Now during the workout, trust me, I feel the burn, but it usually goes away once I head out the door.

But these are just my personal observations

wjassell

This question is impossible to answer without the context of what the ultimate goal of working out is. If you are looking to build serious muscle soreness is the best indicator.

"A recently developed theory states that delayed onset muscle soreness is caused by the breakdown of muscular fibres. This is particularly apparent in strength/resistance programs. The breakdown occurs due to stress, and allows the muscles to grow stronger and larger, as shown through hypertrophy. Exercises that involve many eccentric contractions, such as downhill running or slow "negatives" during weight training, will result in the most severe DOMS. This has been shown to be the result of more muscle cell damage than is seen with typical concentric contractions, in which a muscle successfully shortens during contraction against a load.[2]
Some research claims that delayed onset muscle soreness is not caused by the pain from damaged muscle cells, but from the reinforcement process.[3] The muscle responds to training by reinforcing itself up to and above its previous strength by increasing the size of muscle fibers (muscle hypertrophy). This reinforcement process causes the cells to swell in their compartment and put pressure on nerves and arteries, producing pain."

This is why bodybuilders workout each muscle group once per week. It also becomes harder to become sore when you are doing the same exercises over and over that is why you should change your training periodically to avoid plateau's. I am not well versed in anything other than trying to build serious muscle so you will have to rely on other posters for that info.

Hope this was helpful.