Should I be sore?

[Takenobu]

Hi, as i've said earlier I was doing some weight lifting, but i'm no longer sore the day after the workout. Does this mean my body has adapted to the workout and i'm no longer progressing?

I'm trying to keep my workouts within 40-50 min, so my rests are less than a min and I try to complete 3 x 8 to 3 x 10 for all my exercises with medium-heavy weights (for me).

I must however say that my muscles are completely worn down after the 3 sets so I don't really understand why i'm no longer sore the day after.

I don't see how I can add more weight as that would make it impossible for me to complete the sets, so should I increase the rest and reps or?

Thanks!

 

[D. Dokas]

it depends, if u have a good night sleep eat good proteins you shouldnt have a hard time recovering. why do u want to be sore the next day? just coz ur sore doesnt mean u didnt work your muslce group.

if u really wanna be sore, increase the time in the gym

 

[Takenobu]

D. Dokas,

Thanks for the reply. I thought that I read somewhere that you get sore, because you'd break down the fibres in the muscles. So I thought that if that wasn't the case, they wouldn't be rebuilding themselves.

But given I don't know much about anything regarding weight training, i'll take your comment into consideration. Thanks!

 

[Rickson]

Soreness comes from tiny tears in the muscles. Your body might be adapting, but don't do more reps and sets because your body will adapt to that as well. You should add sets and reps if your goal is endurance, not hypertrophy, but it seems obvious that your goal is hypertrophy. The first thing you should try is adding weight. Try 10 more lbs. and see if that makes a difference. You can also take a week off from the gym because that'll definitely make you sore when you come back. The last option, and I do save it for last, is trying new exercises. I save that option for last just to shock the system. Good luck.

 

[Takenobu]

Rickson,

Thanks for the tips. I think i'll try to add more weight as you suggested and see what happens. Luckily i'll be away from home for 10 days from next week so if nothing happens before that, i'll take your other advice and stay away from any training the 10 days i'm away

Thanks!

 

[fuzz nation]

When I get back into my weight routine after being away from it for a while, I usually expect to have some of that soreness after my first session. I take two days off and then go back to it on the third day to work that soreness out. From then on, my lifts are usually about fatigue more than compiling soreness to make progress, but after longer workouts, I'll have some some residual soreness/burn that's more from lactic acid than from broken down muscle fiber. Once you're in the middle of your training schedule and your tissues are used to the work, I wouldn't expect more than a little soreness here and there.

 

[Hot Sauce]

I often hear that soreness is not an indicator of growth. Is there any truth behind this?

 

[Takenobu]

Fuzz nation,

I increased the weight yesterday and i'm only a tiny bit sore some of the places though. Maybe i'm wearing myself down too early... my 3x8 bicep curls I did yesterday was with each set driving me to my limit but i'm still not sore there My triceps on the other hand are pretty beat up, but I think I added too much weight, so I was close to dropping the weights :shock:

It's strange though it's only been 2 months or so since I started, I didn't think i'd be running into problems this early - kinda annoying.

 

[DOUG951]

I have not read your other posts but it might be your routine. How long are you allowing each muscle group to rest every week. A common theme for muscle growth is to hit chest/back one day, biceps/triceps one day, then legs and shoulders one day. You could do some light cardio on the other days. This is the routine i follow and I am sore after every workout. I tend slightly adjust the way I do the exercises just to insure that I am sore the next day. I love and live for the soreness but you need to make sure you are resting long enough between sessions. Typically when I finish a bicep tricep workout I have such large lactic acid buildup that it is hard to even contract my arm halfway.

 

[Takenobu]

Maybe my rutine is not optimal for me because I do upper body (stomach, back, arms etc.) one day and legs and cardio every other.

I usually rest less than a minute or around that. I've been wondering - if i'm diong 3x8 should each set be to my limit or should that be the last of the 3rd set? Untill recently i've went with the last option, which might have been pretty wrong lol?