In need of advice: Rare to no soreness when lifting

[-=Spitfire=-]

It's kind of a 'common sense' type of question but I want to put this out there as well.

I started lifting consecutively since january without missing a day of my 3 (4, cardio day) exercise week (except for last week, when I missed my back/shoulders day for the first time since I started lifting)

and basically I've made a lot of improvements, I know I've built a great foundation in the past 3 months because my arms are toned, every muscle group is actually SHOWING when I raise my hands up under the right lighting that allows them to be seen. But I rarely get sore anymore, mostly with my upper body exercises. I HAVE been raising weights, but something tells me maybe it's not enough and I need to lift harder in order to get that soreness back. My question is, is this normal, or am I just not lifting hard enough?

I do incline bench, 35/35, have been for the past 3 weeks.
Flat dumbwell press - 40/40 (10 reps)
tricep extentions - 45 (12reps)
tricep curls - 12 (12reps) -- this one is such a bitch, I can't seem to go higher in weights with this exercise, does this just take a lot longer to build?

Flys (pec deck) - I've gone up to 60 (12reps)

*all exercises are ALWAYS 4 sets*
---
Deadlifts - 5 sets of 5 - 25|45 - 45|25 --- this gives me a good soreness everyweek in my back. LOVE THIS ONE.

Reverse dumbell flyes - 4 sets of 15 -- I am basically stuck @ 15 lbs, this exercises KILLS my shoulder area when I'm close to finishing.. but never feel sore.

Pull ups - 4 sets of 12 use machine add like 70 pounds counter weight - Seem to be stuck on this counterweight, Reverse flys and pullups are the most hardest exercises for me on my back/shoulders day. I'm stuck, need advice.

Seated rows - 4 sets of 12
Front 25 pds plate lateral raise 4 sets of 12
dumbell side raises 4 sets of 15 - hard to do when standing, really hard. I do 15lbs dumbells, although lately I've gone up to 20.


anyways. I just wanted to list some of my upper body exercises to give you an idea of my workout, and perhaps help you out in giving me a much better advice.

My concerns are basically with lack of soreness. I am either totally clueless about HOW to lift (even though I've looked numerous times at proper forms) or I just don't know if it's part of the process and that once you've built a base the soreness becomes minimal, but that's probably faulty thinking.

I also feel like I've hit a wall because of this. It's like I'm also losing any type of motivation I've had in the past 3 months of going to train with just "I just wanna get done with this ASAP and go home" lately that's how I've been feeling.

I was 175 when I started, and now I'm 185, basically muscle, a lot of the fat has been burned but there's still a lot of it left. I start cutting May 1st. if this helps.

[dantheman999]

Well the good news is, soreness doesn't necessarily indicate growth. You're body adapts to movements and you will get less DOMS over time. As long as you are progressing your weights and seeing results in your physique thats all that matters. I rarely get sore, unless i try something new, and i grow just fine.

If you do really want to feel sore.. some people like it.. i dont know why... But just try increasing the volume, change rep ranges, and try different exercises.

[-=Spitfire=-]

well that basically answers the question, I think. I just didn't know if soreness was a VITAL part of the muscle growth process.

[mikew4545]

hey my advice would be to do more reps of that way till you feel a burn at the absolute worse towards the muscle ur targeting, it should work

[dantheman999]

Originally Posted by -=Spitfire=-

well that basically answers the question, I think. I just didn't know if soreness was a VITAL part of the muscle growth process.

Well there ya go then! Glad i could help. Now keep moving those weights up and dont forget to eat. Simple really.

[ShawnCarla]

Make sure you're actually concentrating on the muscles you're working. If you've got the attitude of "I just want to get it done and over with" you're probably not putting as much effort into it as you think. Lifting is mostly mental...IE: if you're doing bicep curls, train your brain to focus on that bicep and it doing all of the work.
I guarantee that if you concentrate on squeezing those muscles more you'll get a better workout despite how heavy your weight is that you're lifting.
Also switch up your routine daily... I do two high intensity days a week and three medium intensity days a week.
The high intensity days i lift heavier so that I couldn't possibly do another rep at the end of each set. On Medium intensity days I concentrate on form, less weight and more contraction.
You should be doing a completely different lifting routine every 6 weeks too or your body will plateau and be use to what you're doing.

[Mr.Runner]

This question is asked at least 3 times a day.


Don't design your training to reach soreness. Train to make progress with weight/reps whatever.

[timberwolf]

Originally Posted by dantheman999

Well the good news is, soreness doesn't necessarily indicate growth. You're body adapts to movements and you will get less DOMS over time. As long as you are progressing your weights and seeing results in your physique thats all that matters. I rarely get sore, unless i try something new, and i grow just fine.

If you do really want to feel sore.. some people like it.. i dont know why... But just try increasing the volume, change rep ranges, and try different exercises.

/thread.

Would add to the op that at least you know you're on the right track attitude wise when you're actually seeking for training induced muscle soreness rather than trying to avoid it.

[Wellsters]

Been wondering this myself. Lift pretty hard three days a week and I never get sore. Only time I do is the second day after squats... that is the worst.

My only other question would be, a lot of times some of the guys around the office go to the gym and they say they can't even lift their arms the day after a good work out, I never get to that point either, but I do all my sets to failure. Should I look for that too, or is that part of the DOMS.

[dantheman999]

Originally Posted by Wellsters

Been wondering this myself. Lift pretty hard three days a week and I never get sore. Only time I do is the second day after squats... that is the worst.

My only other question would be, a lot of times some of the guys around the office go to the gym and they say they can't even lift their arms the day after a good work out, I never get to that point either, but I do all my sets to failure. Should I look for that too, or is that part of the DOMS.

Are you making progress? If you are, why would you ever purposely take yourself to the point where you can't lift your arms. My guess is the guys around your office dont go to the gym regularly, and when they do, they overdo it and get really sore. Thats all.

[Brick_Wall]

Originally Posted by ShawnCarla

Make sure you're actually concentrating on the muscles you're working. If you've got the attitude of "I just want to get it done and over with" you're probably not putting as much effort into it as you think. Lifting is mostly mental...IE: if you're doing bicep curls, train your brain to focus on that bicep and it doing all of the work.
I guarantee that if you concentrate on squeezing those muscles more you'll get a better workout despite how heavy your weight is that you're lifting.
Also switch up your routine daily... I do two high intensity days a week and three medium intensity days a week.
The high intensity days i lift heavier so that I couldn't possibly do another rep at the end of each set. On Medium intensity days I concentrate on form, less weight and more contraction.
You should be doing a completely different lifting routine every 6 weeks too or your body will plateau and be use to what you're doing.

Very nice, I can tell you use this method to hit your chest hard :P

[Wellsters]

Originally Posted by dantheman999

Are you making progress? If you are, why would you ever purposely take yourself to the point where you can't lift your arms. My guess is the guys around your office dont go to the gym regularly, and when they do, they overdo it and get really sore. Thats all.

I am making a lot of good progress, very happy with it.

And yeah, you're right about the guys around the office. Thank you for the help.

[mingo3403]

lift harder, if you've been working out correctly and added 10 lbs of muscle you should be lifting heavier and adding more stress to build more muscle.