Have you ever thought, "If I'm not sore, I must not be pushing myself hard enough?"
Or the day after a workout, you found yourself thinking, "I am so sore. I can barely even walk. This must be a sign that it's working."
But is this a good way to measure progress?
Is this a sign that your workouts are effective?
Many people believe muscle soreness is a sign of progress and an effective workout, but research shows this isn't always the case. In fact, soreness isn’t necessarily a sign that your workouts are making you stronger or more fit.
Before discussing how soreness affects progress, let’s first define muscle soreness.
What Is Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and Why Does it Happen?
Muscle soreness, also called Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), is defined as muscular discomfort, pain, or stiffness that usually appears between 6 and 72 hours after intense physical activity.
For example, it's the feeling that makes sitting on the toilet so excruciating the day after a leg workout or being unable to extend your arms to wash your hair without discomfort.
What Causes Muscle Soreness?
This discomfort is caused by muscle tissue breakdown and tearing (micro-tears) after intense physical activity, in this case, from your previous training session. This discomfort is referred to as muscle soreness.
Note: Muscle soreness or DOMS is most noticeable after performing a new exercise. You'll likely feel more sore after doing exercises you haven’t done in a while. And especially if you're new to working out, soreness will be more pronounced.
Eccentric Contractions and Muscle Soreness
Eccentric contractions (muscle lengthening) tend to produce more muscle soreness than concentric contractions (muscle shortening). Eccentric activities cause more micro-tears than concentric contractions.
This means lengthening our muscles under resistance causes more muscle damage than any other type of muscle contraction.
An example of an eccentric contraction, or lengthening of muscles, is slowly lowering yourself into the bottom of a squat or from the top of a pull-up. These types of contractions will likely promote more muscle damage and possible soreness.
Note: Not everyone will experience the same level of muscle soreness. Some will experience soreness more regularly than others. Others may experience very little soreness or none at all. Regardless of what level of lifter you are, beginner or elite, everyone experiences soreness differently.
Also worth noting is that some muscle groups get more sore more often than other muscle groups.
Now that we understand what causes muscle soreness let's see how it relates to your workouts.
How Muscle Soreness Affects Your Workouts
Muscle soreness is completely normal and expected. If you're physically active, chances are you'll feel muscle soreness at some point. Soreness is a natural byproduct of challenging your muscles, especially if you follow a well-designed training program focusing on progressive overload.
Depending on your fitness goals, some soreness may be necessary. For example, if your goal is to achieve your first strict chin-up, at some point in your training program, you'll need to perform controlled eccentric chin-ups to build the required muscle strength to eventually achieve your goal.
Is Muscle Soreness Related to Muscle Growth?
Muscle soreness can be a sign of muscle damage, which might contribute to muscle hypertrophy.
However, don’t mistake soreness as a sign of an effective workout. The saying, "No Pain, No Gain", is a myth, often pushed on social media and in marketing scams.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that the most effective workout is the one that makes you the sorest. Research shows you don’t need muscle soreness to experience hypertrophy.
In fact, there is such a thing as too much muscle soreness. Chasing muscle soreness can be dangerous and lead to excessive training volume and intensity, which impacts recovery.
Extreme soreness may also cause you to alter your exercise technique, leading to injury. So, as you can see, too much soreness can negatively affect your performance, recovery, and results.
How to Reduce Muscle Soreness: Some Recovery Tips
Soreness isn't a requirement for fitness results. However, muscle soreness isn't totally preventable.
Soreness also occurs:
If you're not recovering properly.
If you're not adequately hydrated.
If you're not eating enough quality food.
These things also affect whether you're sore or not.
So, if you're constantly sore, take a look at these things.
You might need:
More rest.
To be better hydrated.
Enough quality food.
While soreness isn't completely avoidable, there are several strategies you can use to minimize it and improve recovery.
To reduce soreness, follow a well-designed program that includes:
A proper warm-up.
Stretching and mobility work.
A proper workout progression.
Planned rest times and rest days.
Proper nutrition and hydration.
So ...
Is Muscle Soreness A Valid Sign Of An Effective Workout?
No, not at all. Muscle soreness is not the best indicator of progress, nor does it necessarily mean you have had an effective workout.
You can be sore and have a terrible workout, but you can not be sore and have a terrible workout as well.
Many things can make you sweat and sore, such as working in your garden or moving heavy boxes.
But muscle soreness does mean something.
Muscle soreness can give you some insight into whether or not there is muscle damage, which can indicate increased muscle hypertrophy. However, muscle soreness does not indicate that the workout was better and more effective, nor is it the only way to measure progress.
Now, you might be thinking, "But I like feeling sore."
Trust me, I totally get that. Being sore after an intense training session can feel good because you know you worked hard.
But know that soreness isn't a valid indicator of anything other than feeling sore.
Muscle soreness does not tell you whether or not your workout was effective.
Muscle soreness does not tell you whether or not your personal trainer knows what they are doing. (Please don't think your personal trainer is only doing their job if you are sore after a training session.)
Muscle soreness does not tell you if you're burning fat, nor does it tell you that you're burning fat in the area of your body that you are sore.
Muscle soreness does not tell you if you're getting stronger.
Muscle soreness merely shows that your muscles have experienced strain or damage.
So, How Do You Know If Your Training Is Effective And That You're Making Progress
First and foremost, you'll need to keep track of your progress.
But how and what type of progress?
Actual progress should be tracked through measurable results like strength gains and improved fitness markers.
The data you keep track of needs to be specific and measurable.
For example, if your goal is:
Fat loss: You must take progress pictures and body measurements. This way, you can keep track of your body composition and see if you’re making noticeable changes and improvements over time.
Increase your strength: Track your compound lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift, chin-up/pull-up, overhead press) to ensure you're increasing your strength over time.
General health: Track the markers that are most important to you (blood pressure, resting heart rate, heart rate recovery, body fat percent, cholesterol levels, 1-mile run time) to ensure you’re improving over time.
By tracking your progress, you'll see what's truly working to help you achieve your individual goal.
Summarizing Muscle Soreness
While some people enjoy the feeling of being sore after a workout, others might not enjoy it as much. Neither is right or wrong.
If you are new to working out, you will be sore for the first few weeks. Keep going. The soreness will subside in about 4-6 weeks. Just don't let soreness stop you from working out or be the reason you quit.
Being sore after a workout isn't a bad thing. But remember, soreness doesn't mean your workout is more effective. A workout that doesn't make you sore isn't less effective.
In short, muscle soreness is just your body's way of telling you your muscles have been challenged. It's not a measure of progress.
So, from now on, when you're trying to determine how good your workout or personal trainer is, don't make that judgment based on how much you sweat or how sore you are the next day.
Instead, focus on what truly matters: tracking measurable improvements, such as strength gains, body composition, or health markers like resting heart rate. This data will give you a clearer picture of how well your training program is working.
Ultimately, consistency and commitment to your fitness goals drive success, not how sore you feel after each session.
If you're ready to stop guessing and start seeing real progress, schedule a free consultation call with me today. Let's work together to design your individualized training program to help you meet your fitness goals!
~ Deb
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