Thread: Little muscle soreness the next day - too little, too much, or just right?

Haha...This ought to be good.

I think I answered my own question after more digging, and found that indeed soreness means gains, which is what I assumed. I guess I'll be doing 6-8 higher weight reps and maybe finishing off with a 4-6 rep failure set?

Ok, i'll make this real simple for you.

Thanks for any help you can give me. To reiterate my most basic question: How long will an ideal workout leave a muscle group sore and is soreness an indication of a good workout or not? Thanks again!

Soreness is not a good indication of whether or not a workout was effective.

I think I answered my own question after more digging, and found that indeed soreness means gains, which is what I assumed. So I guess it's back to the drawing board since each work out -seemed- intense enough. Heavier weights and sets to failure?

You answered it wrong!!! The answer is NO.

Post your routine and the brilliant minds here at ironmagazine.com will definetly help you out.

"The good soreness that makes you stronger is called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and is caused by microscopic tears in your muscle fibers. It is not caused by lactic acid buildup. When muscles are damaged, they produce healing prostaglandin that cause muscles to become bigger and stronger than before they were exercised vigorously. Researchers have shown that DOMS heals faster when you do nothing, but if you take off every time your muscles feel sore, you will never become an athlete and you will not reach a high level of fitness. When you exert very slight pressure on your muscles when you have DOMS, you cause muscle fibers to become more fibrous and they will become stronger so they can withstand greater stress during your harder workouts."

- http://ezinearticles.com/?DOMS:-Dela...ness&id=118977

"When you work out, you literally "tear down" muscle tissue (these are microscopic tears - not like a "torn" muscle in the medical sense). During the days after the workout, the muscle begins to rebuild itself, provided it is allowed enough time to recover and sufficient nutrients are provided. This rebuilding process creates a "new" muscle that is bigger and stronger than before. In a nutshell, this is how the enitre process of muscle growth takes place.

This type of pain is different than the burn you feel during the workout and it is different from the pain of an injury. It's important that you develop the ability to differentiate between the "good pain" of soreness and the "bad pain" of injury. Unless the soreness is so extreme that it is debilitating and prevents you from participating in sports or performing routine tasks (like walking up a flight of stairs!), then next day soreness is GOOD PAIN! It is a sign that you had a good workout - that you trained hard enough to break down muscle tissue. As a result, your reward is going to be bigger and stronger muscles.

DOMS will be greatest in a beginner who has never worked out before. The more your body adapts to the workload you impose on it, the less soreness you will feel. If you continue to repeat the same workout over and over again, it will eventually cease to make you sore. Unfortunately, you will also cease to make any progress. Progressive overload is the cornerstone of getting stronger and building muscle."

- http://www.ironmagazine.com/article118.html

They're talking out of their asses. No one fully understands what causes DOMS. Muscle damage has something to do with it, yes, but there is more to it than that. If that was the only thing that caused soreness, then you would get sore after every resistance training workout that involved sufficient intensity. We all know that isn't the case.

Measure your progress by measuring your progress. Don't worry about soreness. It's really that simple.

Ok, thanks.

as stated above, DOMS isn't an indicator of a successful workout. unnecessary to switch up your workout every week. every 4-6 weeks is fine.

I can hit you on the foot with a DB and you will be sore for weeks. But that doesn't make it effective.