Hi all,
When I first started to lift weight, I read that one indicator of good workout (presumably such good workout will yield good results, ie muscle mass) is the feeling of soreness on the muscles already worked on. The reason is, overloading muscles with weight will break fibers in the muscles (?), which cause this soreness feeling. Breaking muscle fibers will lead to more fibers to be built as well as existing fibers to be strengthen, so that next time these muscles can withstand the same weight. That's why feeling muscle soreness is essential for successful weight training (if we want to increase muscle mass/size). In other words, we have to work on muscles until they sore, otherwise we are not breaking any fibers, meaning we are not building the muscles at all.
I've been going to gym working out with the above understanding, but problem is in my own experience there are muscles which are easily sored and others which are very difficult no matter what exercise I do on them. For instance, my biceps are easily sored as soon as I do many reps or use heavier weight, also my quads. But I've been doing bench presses and pulldowns and rows many many times without feeling any soreness on my chest and back muscles (well, maybe at first when I just started, but never again). I now wonder what have I done wrong? Are these exercises maybe for some reason not suitable for me? Or am I not using heavy enough weights (I doubt it though because I usually use weight for 6 to 1 reps)?
Also another question on muscle soreness, when and for how long should I feel such soreness? I usually do not feel any muscle soreness right after I do an exercise (only feeling muscle bigger), but I will feel soreness a day after the exercise, and it usually last only for 1 day (the second day after the exercise the soreness is usually already gone). Is this how it is supposed to be?
-- Josh
When I first started to lift weight, I read that one indicator of good workout (presumably such good workout will yield good results, ie muscle mass) is the feeling of soreness on the muscles already worked on. The reason is, overloading muscles with weight will break fibers in the muscles (?), which cause this soreness feeling. Breaking muscle fibers will lead to more fibers to be built as well as existing fibers to be strengthen, so that next time these muscles can withstand the same weight. That's why feeling muscle soreness is essential for successful weight training (if we want to increase muscle mass/size). In other words, we have to work on muscles until they sore, otherwise we are not breaking any fibers, meaning we are not building the muscles at all.
I've been going to gym working out with the above understanding, but problem is in my own experience there are muscles which are easily sored and others which are very difficult no matter what exercise I do on them. For instance, my biceps are easily sored as soon as I do many reps or use heavier weight, also my quads. But I've been doing bench presses and pulldowns and rows many many times without feeling any soreness on my chest and back muscles (well, maybe at first when I just started, but never again). I now wonder what have I done wrong? Are these exercises maybe for some reason not suitable for me? Or am I not using heavy enough weights (I doubt it though because I usually use weight for 6 to 1 reps)?
Also another question on muscle soreness, when and for how long should I feel such soreness? I usually do not feel any muscle soreness right after I do an exercise (only feeling muscle bigger), but I will feel soreness a day after the exercise, and it usually last only for 1 day (the second day after the exercise the soreness is usually already gone). Is this how it is supposed to be?
-- Josh
-- Josh
