My chests not aching help!!!

[lukeyc95]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been on and off training (more off) for around two years. I’ve recently started training again 2 weeks ago after having around 5 months off (done small bits and bobs in between).

When I train my back or legs they ache not too bad but I can feel they’ve been trained, when I train my shoulders or chest I almost feel like I could train them the day after cause they’re not really sore. Chest/shoulders are my most frequent workouts. When I initially started again two weeks ago my chest was so sore after working out but I’ve just done my fifth chest session since the two weeks started and I’m already not too sore!

I’d say I go pretty hard on my chest the last workout I was in the gym for 1.5 hours. I warmed up then did 5 sets of flat bench, 2 sets heavy (5 reps) then 3 sets not too heavy (8-12 reps), 4 sets of incline dumbbell press, then I did 3 sets of each of the cable variations, 3 sets on the pec dec, and 3 sets on the fly machine, 3 sets of assisted incline press. Then some triceps afterwards.

Done a lot of research on form the past couple years so I’d say that’s pretty good!

PLEASE HELP! Thank you!

EDIT: I train till failure every set, if I can do more than 12 I up the weight.

[SuffolkPunch]

Don't use soreness to measure progress - not being sore doesn't mean you aren't progressing. Also, being sore doesn't mean you are progressing either.

Just look for regular increases in reps per set or weight used. If that's happening, it's all good.

[lukeyc95]

Don't use soreness to measure progress - not being sore doesn't mean you aren't progressing. Also, being sore doesn't mean you are progressing either.

Just look for regular increases in reps per set or weight used. If that's happening, it's all good.

Okay thanks mate, this happened to me last time I was training I had an 80kg 1RM on the bench and got it to 105kg without soreness I guess!

Back down to 95kg now hopefully I’ll progress without the soreness again, win win 😃

[safcpaul]

If you want to make your chest sore op get someone to hit you in the pectorals with a baseball bat. Your chest will be very sore. Also when you bench press get somebody to rub sandpaper on you. The burn will be unreal

[wave_length]

Don't use soreness to measure progress - not being sore doesn't mean you aren't progressing. Also, being sore doesn't mean you are progressing either.

Just look for regular increases in reps per set or weight used. If that's happening, it's all good.

This man knows what he‘s talking about.

[CommitmentRulz]

From your description, you are not working legs and back often enough. What is your entire workout program?

[DrumsNotDead]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been on and off training (more off) for around two years. I’ve recently started training again 2 weeks ago after having around 5 months off (done small bits and bobs in between).

When I train my back or legs they ache not too bad but I can feel they’ve been trained, when I train my shoulders or chest I almost feel like I could train them the day after cause they’re not really sore. Chest/shoulders are my most frequent workouts. When I initially started again two weeks ago my chest was so sore after working out but I’ve just done my fifth chest session since the two weeks started and I’m already not too sore!

I’d say I go pretty hard on my chest the last workout I was in the gym for 1.5 hours. I warmed up then did 5 sets of flat bench, 2 sets heavy (5 reps) then 3 sets not too heavy (8-12 reps), 4 sets of incline dumbbell press, then I did 3 sets of each of the cable variations, 3 sets on the pec dec, and 3 sets on the fly machine, 3 sets of assisted incline press. Then some triceps afterwards.

Done a lot of research on form the past couple years so I’d say that’s pretty good!

PLEASE HELP! Thank you!

EDIT: I train till failure every set, if I can do more than 12 I up the weight.

You are more used to pressing movements than other workouts. Soreness is nice and can be an indication of working the muscle, but as you progress you'll realize that it's not the best measure of true progress or strength gain. The body adapts and so if you're routinely doing the same pressing movements for the same reps you body is going to adapt and not feel as sore. Try hitting it with something new, perhaps some variations of the exercises or maybe higher volume if you really want to get sore, but just realize that you can get an effective workout and not be sore later. Focus on progressively getting stronger and less on soreness.

[lukeyc95]

Thanks for all the comments people, I can continue knowing it’s all good now as long as I’m seeing strength gains 😀 probably post another thread soon about cutting cause I’ve never actually cut before but I wanna start cutting come Christmas for the summer. Wouldn’t say I’m fat by any means but I want a six pack so I guess I am fat compared to most of yous 😂

[gr3gorio]

Good to hear that mate!

[MrCarrot]

As others have said, soreness is not a sign of progression.

However, with that said, with the right exercises I can feel a good pump in the target muscles at the time. With the wrong exercises (either done incorrectly, too heavy or not suited to me) I don't get such a good feeling in the target muscles. So I would say pick your exercises carefully and make sure you can feel your chest working at the time. That might mean going slightly lighter, using barbells instead of dumbbells, or dumbbells instead of barbells, or machines, etc.

[revempire]

Despite what many people say, I'm a big believer in creating direct onset muscle soreness because it is a Sure Shot indicator that muscle damage did occur during your workout.

And actually the chest is one of the easiest places to create soreness. Here's how I do it and his how I think you should do it

If you really want to create soreness, start off on the bench press with a heavier weight, do as many reps as you can, until it feels like you're trying to lift a house on the last rep, then immediately go over to the chest press machine, lower the weight by 50%, and do as many reps as you can on there until you can barely do another one.

For your 1.5 hours that you're in the gym, do this Non-Stop and I guarantee 100 percent your chest will be sore the next day and for the next couple days. But you really have to beat the crap out of your chest and keep doing this for the 1.5 hours that you are there, it will burn, you'll feel like you want to cry on the chest press machine, but keep doing it.

[CommitmentRulz]

Despite what many people say, I'm a big believer in creating direct onset muscle soreness because it is a Sure Shot indicator that muscle damage did occur during your workout.

And actually the chest is one of the easiest places to create soreness. Here's how I do it and his how I think you should do it

If you really want to create soreness, start off on the bench press with a heavier weight, do as many reps as you can, until it feels like you're trying to lift a house on the last rep, then immediately go over to the chest press machine, lower the weight by 50%, and do as many reps as you can on there until you can barely do another one.

For your 1.5 hours that you're in the gym, do this Non-Stop and I guarantee 100 percent your chest will be sore the next day and for the next couple days. But you really have to beat the crap out of your chest and keep doing this for the 1.5 hours that you are there, it will burn, you'll feel like you want to cry on the chest press machine, but keep doing it.

And from your other thread, https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=179167801 you state

I've been doing this consistently for 3 months, and the amount of progress I've made is pitiful compared to all this goddamn work I'm putting in.

[SuffolkPunch]

Despite what many people say, I'm a big believer in creating direct onset muscle soreness because it is a Sure Shot indicator that muscle damage did occur during your workout.

And actually the chest is one of the easiest places to create soreness. Here's how I do it and his how I think you should do it

If you really want to create soreness, start off on the bench press with a heavier weight, do as many reps as you can, until it feels like you're trying to lift a house on the last rep, then immediately go over to the chest press machine, lower the weight by 50%, and do as many reps as you can on there until you can barely do another one.

For your 1.5 hours that you're in the gym, do this Non-Stop and I guarantee 100 percent your chest will be sore the next day and for the next couple days. But you really have to beat the crap out of your chest and keep doing this for the 1.5 hours that you are there, it will burn, you'll feel like you want to cry on the chest press machine, but keep doing it.

Muscle damage is not a causal factor of hypertrophy. In fact excessive muscle damage has been shown to prevent quality training and harm results.

[EiFit91]

Muscle damage is not a causal factor of hypertrophy. In fact excessive muscle damage has been shown to prevent quality training and harm results.

Does that imply that there is an amount of volume (depending on the lifter's experience) at which you are harming your progress? Is the result you are referring to related to joint recovery or just purely related to muscles not being able to fully recover until the next training session?

[Seanbroadie]

why tf do you want your chest to ache?

[ClaudeSpeed22]

This. I wouldn´t say soreness means progress.

If you are increasing the weights you handle at them gym, you are in the right direction. No matter if you can´t feel the pain after the workout.

[Imranjaffery]

This is actually the latest information, definitely worth applying. Seriously.

[SuffolkPunch]

Does that imply that there is an amount of volume (depending on the lifter's experience) at which you are harming your progress? Is the result you are referring to related to joint recovery or just purely related to muscles not being able to fully recover until the next training session?

Missed this one

Yes, if you purposely train for microtrauma (slowed eccentrics) it could take longer to recover, you will be more sore and if you train again too soon then you will have a poor performance IME.

Joint recovery is an interesting topic - it's still about muscles and perhaps about connective tissue which can also suffer microtrauma. I think damage to connective tissue is the kind of thing that accumulates over time (making sudden injuries more possible too). Maybe if you were a hardcore powerlifter, you would need periodic deloads or lower tension training blocks to deal with this. But my main point here is that it happens over a longer timescale than just one workout to the next.

I doubt that a typical BB goal would need this special consideration for connective tissue though.

[buchwachattack]

Does that imply that there is an amount of volume (depending on the lifter's experience) at which you are harming your progress? Is the result you are referring to related to joint recovery or just purely related to muscles not being able to fully recover until the next training session?

Individual response to training volume is (likely) a bell-shaped curve. As volume increases you should expect to see more adaptation--until you hit a certain point at which adaptation slows and eventually regresses. There are a number of theoretical mechanisms that might cause this, including local fatigue (muscles not being recovered), systemic fatigue (you feel like trash), joint damage etc.

In a world where this wasn't the case, you could continue to dial up volume and see additional gains ad infinitum, but we sadly do not live in that muscle-building paradise.

[illmortalized]

Don't use soreness to measure progress - not being sore doesn't mean you aren't progressing. Also, being sore doesn't mean you are progressing either.

Just look for regular increases in reps per set or weight used. If that's happening, it's all good.

This.

Sometimes, even on my deload chest day I can have sore pecs on the following day.