Not sore = not good workout?

[KarD786]

So I know this isn't true and that you can get a good workout and not be sore. But I only feel as if I'm getting results if I get sore. It gives me the reassurance of building muscle for sure. Is anyone else this way? I Always make my goal to get sore. The sorer, the better in my eyes

[Halrawk]

I used to be like this until I tried a well set up program. Not one I made on my own. This program has me doing far less exercises, I'm nearly never sore. I have seen WAY better results from not being sore, than I ever have from the ones where I was sore.

Not saying sore is bad, just saying it's not always good.

[PeterGibbons316]

I usually consider it a good workout when my muscles are just incredibly tired when I am finished. I know I had a good workout when I am showering afterward and struggle lifting my arms over my head.

[VIsland]

So I know this isn't true and that you can get a good workout and not be sore. But I only feel as if I'm getting results if I get sore. It gives me the reassurance of building muscle for sure. Is anyone else this way? I Always make my goal to get sore. The sorer, the better in my eyes

Soreness and or tightness in the muscle indicates you've done a good job and broken down the tissue necessary for repair. With adequate rest between workouts, if you're not at the very least tight in your bodypart 8 to 24 hours after you've trained it then you need to kick up the intensity, volume, or poundages.

[zildjian_4]

Soreness and or tightness in the muscle indicates you've done a good job and broken down the tissue necessary for repair. With adequate rest between workouts, if you're not at the very least tight in your bodypart 8 to 24 hours after you've trained it then you need to kick up the intensity, volume, or poundages.

what?no.

[VIsland]

what?no.

Let me reiterate. You train a particular body part like biceps for instance. You have a good hard session with good intensity. 12 hours or so later you get up in the morning and think to yourself "hmm I don't remember what bodypart that was that I trained yesterday" so you proceed to straighten your arms, squat down, trying to find something on your body that has soreness, tightness, or at the very least a little fullness in the muscle belly. Negative. Well guess what? That training session you had the night before? A waste of your time. If you think not, you're fooling yourself and you need to take a hard look at how you're training and exactly what you're doing in the gym.

[adimare]

2+2=5?

So I know this isn't true and that 2+2 actually equals 4. But I only feel as if I'm doing good math if I get 5 when I add 2+2. It gives me the reassurance of getting good results for sure. Is anyone else this way? I always make my goal to add 2 and 2 and get 5. The fiver, the better in my eyes.

[Lexemes]

2+2=5?

So I know this isn't true and that 2+2 actually equals 4. But I only feel as if I'm doing good math if I get 5 when I add 2+2. It gives me the reassurance of getting good results for sure. Is anyone else this way? I always make my goal to add 2 and 2 and get 5. The fiver, the better in my eyes.

wat

[BartPimpson]

Muscle pain always means a good workout, but I believe it's possible to have a good workout without muscle pain.

It's like how you don't always get rain when you have clouds, but you never get rain without them.

[jubbrah]

my shoulders grow quite well but never get sore... my chest is always extremely sore after a workout but is lagging compared to the rest of my body. So to me it doesnt always seem that pain is a sign of progress. I think because my chest lags, i go extra hard and probably overtrain it.. lol i dunno

[BartPimpson]

my shoulders grow quite well but never get sore... my chest is always extremely sore after a workout but is lagging compared to the rest of my body. So to me it doesnt always seem that pain is a sign of progress. I think because my chest lags, i go extra hard and probably overtrain it.. lol i dunno

That's exactly my experience, some muscles never seem to get sore but they still grow. I think soreness is only a superficial indicator of muscle trauma.

[JOHN GARGANI]

OP: you look emaciated....I believe you are beating yourself to death.....

get over this "soreness" obsession.....

this is a wonderful time for you to get basically stronger and build a good foundation...

don't waste it by chasing soreness....

[Ironlife]

OP: you look emaciated....I believe you are beating yourself to death.....

get over this "soreness" obsession.....

this is a wonderful time for you to get basically stronger and build a good foundation...

don't waste it by chasing soreness....

Very solid advice John ^

[VIsland]

Well I'm not gonna chase my soreness nor am I gonna chase my pumps. However I will embrace them wholeheartedly like I have been for 25 plus years of lifting. BTW you'll never see me post a topic "progress stalled what's wrong?"

[ironwill2008]

I Always make my goal to get sore. The sorer, the better in my eyes

If you feel "getting sore" is so beneficial to muscle growth, just throw yourself down a flight of stairs after each workout. By your logic, you'll be huge in no time at all.

[KarD786]

It's not an obsession but more of something that makes me feel better about my workout. It's like a reassurance that you worked hard enough. Some days I just won't get sore or tight but I am still fine with it. I just feel a lot better when I do get sore. That's just me though..

[ZoranM]

I just feel a lot better when I do get sore. That's just me though..

That's not just you. Many people like ending up sore. But you ARE making it an obsession, and there is no need for it really.

[KarD786]

Well I'd rather have it an obsession to know I'm making results. Cas some days I wake up not tired or dead at all o the previously worked out muscle. Sometimes I'm like I know I worked out hard so I should be good and sometimes I worked out just as hard but I'm like FUUCKK!

[rayr2010]

i get sore after every workout.

those who dont are IMO:

a) not in tune with their bodies (dont know how to stimulate muscles enough)
b) not using enough weight (i BET these people who dont get sore do 10+ rep schemes)
- i do 3-4 sets of 8 per exercise, 70-80% of 1RM
c) not good enough ROM

my chest days for example i get through my 3 sets of each exercise.....its the final 4th set that does the tearing (they are always failure sets that are like 4-6 reps) but i focus on the stretch, the ROM, activating every muscle fiber throughout ROM (i also go much slower on my 4th set of everything to help focus on "tearing the muscle fiber"). i finish with DB flys which really stretch and tear the muscle.

[JUNKH34D]

I feel the same way as the OP about being sore. Like I just didnt push hard enough in the gym if I'm not sore. I think part of it for me is that the soreness gives me motivation...I look in the mirror and see moobs (man-boobs) but when I hit chest good and hard I know i have Pecs underneath 2 days later when I can't steer my car without crying lol. Obviously thats an exaggeration but you get the point. Its a mental thing. Also, I agree with the guy about being so spent afterward you cant reach places on your body when you try to take a shower, thats a good sign of getting work done for me too.

[Tears]

"If i'm not carried out of the gym on a stretcher after each workout, it was a waste"

/nextplz

[Retardo-pex]

Let me reiterate. You train a particular body part like biceps for instance. You have a good hard session with good intensity. 12 hours or so later you get up in the morning and think to yourself "hmm I don't remember what bodypart that was that I trained yesterday" so you proceed to straighten your arms, squat down, trying to find something on your body that has soreness, tightness, or at the very least a little fullness in the muscle belly. Negative. Well guess what? That training session you had the night before? A waste of your time. If you think not, you're fooling yourself and you need to take a hard look at how you're training and exactly what you're doing in the gym.

He has a point though, depending on your goals. Soreness is not an indicator of growth or strength gain. If your goal is to get large and the first few weeks you are really sore but then you aren't really getting all that sore anymore but are still putting on size, you are reaching your goal.

A lot of the time I was making great gains in strength in high school I was not sore, but I was getting bigger and all my lifts were increasing rapidly, so how could that training have been a waste?

Even right now, I can do a day of heavy singles on squats and not get sore from them, but I could also throw 95 lbs on the bar and just rep it out for an overhead press for a few sets and probably be very sore the next day, that doesn't mean it was an effective workout, and it doesn't mean my squat work was a wasted training day.

[Retardo-pex]

Well I'd rather have it an obsession to know I'm making results. Cas some days I wake up not tired or dead at all o the previously worked out muscle. Sometimes I'm like I know I worked out hard so I should be good and sometimes I worked out just as hard but I'm like FUUCKK!

If you are gaining weight/getting stronger you are improving.

A good example of soreness not being the be all end all of progress is someone's first time trying out the 5x5 program. The first 2-4 weeks might suck if you have never squatted or benched 3x a week. By the 9th week you have significantly increased your 5RM and (if you were eating to support it) your overall size but you will most likely be much more sore/tight the first few weeks of the program then the last 3.

[joenj07087]

for me soreness is useful to gage where on a muscle a particular exercise hit....

[tomsfish]

i get sore after every workout.

those who dont are IMO:

a) not in tune with their bodies (dont know how to stimulate muscles enough)
b) not using enough weight (i BET these people who dont get sore do 10+ rep schemes)
- i do 3-4 sets of 8 per exercise, 70-80% of 1RM
c) not good enough ROM

my chest days for example i get through my 3 sets of each exercise.....its the final 4th set that does the tearing (they are always failure sets that are like 4-6 reps) but i focus on the stretch, the ROM, activating every muscle fiber throughout ROM (i also go much slower on my 4th set of everything to help focus on "tearing the muscle fiber"). i finish with DB flys which really stretch and tear the muscle.

at a still out of shape 230 lbs i pretty much die trying to get out 40 chinups mondays,weds, and fridays.i did it friday and this morning.no soreness, just tired.im pretty in tune with my body,i do full range of motion, and i think 230 lbs is enough.i do 5 to 6 sets of leg press once a week,and i can barely walk for a couple of days.
so i think it probably has something to do with how many days between lifts that dictates some soreness.just my opinion tho.

tom

[JOHN GARGANI]

i get sore after every workout.

those who dont are IMO:

a) not in tune with their bodies (dont know how to stimulate muscles enough)
b) not using enough weight (i BET these people who dont get sore do 10+ rep schemes)
- i do 3-4 sets of 8 per exercise, 70-80% of 1RM
c) not good enough ROM

.

enlightenment from the red zone.....

utter nonsense! it is, like the last poster said, more a factor of time between workouts and other various things....

I can have mind numbingly intense workouts without soreness, but , I have also been doing this for almost 40 years.....

when I am sore, I am...I don't sweat it.....

[rayr2010]

[QUOTE=JOHN GARGANI;574305471]enlightenment from the red zone.....[QUOTE]

dont knock the red zone bro, no good reason for me to be neg, i cld just as easily make a new id and get green....

honestly though, soreness is 90% of the time a good indication of a good workout, and a good thing to shoot for imo....

ya 40 years is a bit much to be expecting sore....i imagine your more maintenance then you are building at this point?

[45pounder]

I usually consider it a good workout when my muscles are just incredibly tired when I am finished. I know I had a good workout when I am showering afterward and struggle lifting my arms over my head.

i definitely feel ya on that!!!

[45pounder]

for me soreness is useful to gage where on a muscle a particular exercise hit....

exacly!!good point. i actually use soreness to feel and make sure i hit the muscle groups i intended on working

[ZoranM]

exacly!!good point. i actually use soreness to feel and make sure i hit the muscle groups i intended on working

How long have you been working out?