Sore Muscles

Many weight trainers have the belief that being sore the day after a workout means that you worked out really hard and that you’ll derive some benefits from the workout.

But this is not necessarily the case.

You see, you can get sore from doing 100 reps of an exercise. Or too many sets. Or from some extreme stretching. Or maybe you have some after-effects of cramping?

There are many reasons for soreness a day or two after a workout. But there’s only one good reason:

You pushed your muscles far enough to elicit muscle growth

And getting really sore, like I am right now, can keep you from wanting to workout at the frequency you might need. I know, I just had a killer workout and I have no motivation to get myself out of my desk chair and GO DO SOMETHING!!!

Which, actually, is the worst part of all!

So, here’s what I have to say in conclusion:

Work out hard enough to force your muscles to respond, but no more. Being sore after a muscle-stimulating workout is the best motivator and a pretty good progress meter for knowing whether your workout was productive.

But if you’re sore beyond 2 days, you probably worked out too hard or your workout wasn’t very effective.