I’ve been hearing this question a lot lately, so I thought I would address it in my blog.
“If I’m not sore, does that mean I didn’t benefit from my workout?”
The soreness you feel after a new or tough workout comes from microscopic tears in the muscle tissue. Don’t worry, these tears are a good thing as long as you allow the tears to heal by taking time off between workouts. It is during this healing time that you will build the most fat burning muscle tissue.
However, if you are experiencing extreme or constant soreness, you may have over done your training. In this case apply ice to the sore area for a day or two and try using a product like Biofreeze and/or an anti-inflamatory OTC medicine, such as ibuprofen. Don’t train that area again until the soreness is gone, but don’t sit around and let everything stiffen up either. Try taking an easy walk to keep the lactic acid from building up. If you are consistently sore after workouts, you may want to try taking Branch Chain Amino Acids along with whey protein immediately after exercise as a preventative measure. And, don’t forget to gently stretch each muscle group at the end of your workout no matter what.
If you are not sore, it does not necessarily mean that you didn’t get any results from your workout. My theory is that some body types don’t feel muscle soreness as much as others. People who gain muscle mass very easily may not feel sore at all, while those individuals that have a harder time adding muscle to their frames may not have to push hard at all to feel sore. Also, everyone’s pain threshhold is different, so that must be taken into account.
A good way to ensure that you are getting an effective workout is to vary your routine as often as possible. When your cardio workout starts to feel easy for 2-3 sessions, increase your speed by 10 percent or add 2.5-5 minutes to your time. If your strength training workout is a breeze, increase the weight by 2-5% or add 2-3 reps during your next session. Also, don’t zone out during your exercise session. Using the correct form and really concentrating on the muscles being worked can make a big difference.
If you haven't been sore in a long time, increase your weight by 2-5 percent
If you are following all of the tips provided here, you should be getting great results from your workout, while preventing overuse injuries. As always, if you have questions about your current workout or would like to change things up, give me a call!