Probably one of the biggest complaints new comers to fitness have is the next day soreness that they experience, especially after leg day or exercising their core. When the next morning comes they feel as if their bodies are 50 years older; everything is stiff, sore, and getting out of bed is a chore. In this struggle between health and exercise many questions race in our minds, am I doing more damage than good feeling like this after a workout? What does this soreness mean? Will it be like this every time I workout? Well let’s just put it this way, if you don’t feel sore after a workout you did it wrong…or aren’t human!
The Take Away:
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You worked out a muscle in a way that it isn’t used to.
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Try at least 24–48 hours of rest before hitting the muscle group hard again.
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You can help your body recover by performing “re-feed” exercises (very low weight, high rep) for the muscle group that’s sore.
EMBRACE THE PAIN
All a sore muscle means is that you worked it out in a way that you haven’t worked out in a while (either over a period of time, or at a certain intensity). You will definitely have more muscle soreness if you are new to working out. All of those years of sitting on the couch and/or at your desk have done nothing to prepare you for any physical activity, hence why you’re sore after something as simple as walking. This soreness that you will feel is a great sign that you are getting stronger, and eventually will embrace the pain because soreness after a workout means you are improving!
You may be wondering if this is the case then eventually I won’t get sore at all. Yes and no. It all comes down to two words: INTENSITY, and CHALLENGING. Your workouts need to be both intense and challenging every time. The intensity of your workout can be measured by the rate at which you perform the movement, ex: slow on both the contraction and extension, or fast on the contraction and slow on the extension. Both of these styles will give you a great workout but the latter is much more intense. Intensity is also measured by how much you rest between sets, less rest is more intense. Challenging can be defined as the amount of weight you use to perform the movement. Be sure to use a weight that requires maximum effort to perform quality reps for the prescribed number of reps and sets. If you maintain intense and challenging workouts you will maintain this soreness after your workouts, and will get stronger as well!
TAKE A DAY OFF
It’s generally a good idea to give a muscle group at least 24–48 hours of rest before hitting it hard again. You will do more damage than good if you bench press every day at maximum intensity and maximum effort. It is this reason that we suggest performing the tried and true method of a different muscle group every day of the week, ex: Mon – Leg Day, Tues – Chest Day, Wed – Arm Day, Thurs – Back Day, Fri – Shoulder Day. Or, you could perform a M/W/F workout routine where you combine complimentary muscle groups (Chest/Triceps, Back/Biceps, Quads/Hamstrings) resting on Tuesday and Thursday; this is a good workout style if you are lifting heavy weight every time.
GIVE THEM MORE!
Now that we’ve mentioned your resting period, in this period of recovery, you will see bodybuilders doing “re-feed” exercises that involve lifting a very low weight for high reps to increase blood flow to the recovering muscles. More blood flow into these muscles means more nutrients into the muscle and more waste is removed from the muscle, all to improve the quality of and decrease the time for recovery.
For example, let’s say it’s Wednesday and yesterday was your chest day, your chest muscles SHOULD be very sore today. So, as you’re wrapping up your Wednesday workout routine you can perform one last movement that would work out your chest muscles using a very light weight for high reps (something like 20 – 30% of your ORM, for about 15 – 20 reps). Perform this movement for three sets and you’re all set!
Now if you really want to confuse your muscles, do different workouts every time you go to the gym! Head to the free workout generator at the top of our home page for over 150 trillion free workouts and your muscles will never know what is going on!
If You Don’t Feel Sore After A Workout You Did It Wrong...
- Athleticism
- Muscle Size
- Recovery
- Weight Training
