Is SORENESS an indication of a good workout?

[Madcowz]

I used to think it wasn't, but after my last couple workouts, I may be changing my stance on the subject. You see I used to believe that extreme soreness can be avoided by streching, and therefore soreness is a result of lack of stretching and not a good measure of how intense your workout was. Perhaps I just used that to comfort myself since I wasn't getting very sore from my work outs previously. Well my past few visits to the gym have been real intense and I've learned some killer excercises that have resulted in nearly dead body parts the following day... and this is WITH stretching as part of my routine! So my question now is, is soreness an effective measure of progress and gains?

 

[Argo]

Depends what kind of soreness. If you are sore to the point where you have dificulty doing everyday stuff then you probably pulled something and you should lighten up the load next time. On the other hand, if your muscles feel weak and hurt a little every time you move then you did have a good workout.

 

[Daniel]

I've never heard the soreness = not stretched, theory before. I mean if you overexert a muscle it is going to be sore, no matter how well stretched it is.

Also generally soreness doesn't always = a good workout. If you are pathetically out of shape and walk a flight of stairs and are ready to pass out I wouldn't say you got a good workout in. Also if you are really sore, and seemingly not in the right places your form in the exercises might be off too, many, many people lift weights incorrectly.

 

[Novgrod]

The answer, as I understand it:

Soreness in a joint is a Bad Thing. This is avoidable.

Soreness in a muscle is the result of lactic acid buildup. When your muscles run out of oxygen, they create energy by fermentation, and while I used to know the entire reaction all I know now is that a product is lactic acid. This creates the soreness in your muscle. It is eventually worked out with adequate blood flow.

After you work out a few times, your blood supply to those muscles will dramatically increase, so you can get all your energy you need via normal cellular resparation, so no lactic acid, so no soreness.

So when I was young, I'd be annoyed because I'd work out and get really sore, then work out again and not be sore at all. Little did I know that I was still making good progress.

 

[LoneWolf1]

Don't worry about it. Pain is just weakness leaving the body.🙂

 

[IGBT]

Bone joint soreness isn't good. Muscle soreness goes with the territory..but recovery time is in order to benifit from your work out...sounds reasonable?

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

<< Don't worry about it. Pain is just weakness leaving the body.🙂 >>



I do not know this 'pain' you speak about.

 

[MooseKnuckle]

General muscle soreness is okay, pain is not a good sign. My workout soreness usually lasts 2 days, with day 2 being more sore than the first. The degree of soreness can very based on intensity and duration of workout. I generally feel more sore when I work secondary muscles with very strict form and lots of weight. Stretching has nothing to do with soreness, it's good to stretch to warm up the joint(s) you'll be training. Lastly, I know when I've had a good workout because I leave the gym feeling like I'm going to vomit (especially after training legs). Good Luck with your workouts, remember eat lots and get plenty of sleep.

 

[MrChicken]

AFAIK, soreness is not understood as to why exercise causes it. To this point lactic acid and strectching theories were proven incorrect, but the real cause remains unknown.

Practical experience among lifters is that soreness is not a good thing, and that people that experience less soreness generall progress faster. My guess is that the high level of soreness represents an issue that the body must resolve before growth can begin, therefore limiting gains.

In my personal experience, finding the right protein supplement for post workout meal supplementation and getting enough food in general are the two things that seem to lessen soreness. Going hungry after a workout just about assures muscle soreness over the next 2 or 3 days. You should also get plenty of rest.