i lift for about 45 minutes to an hour everyday and i am 17 yrs old. While im lifting i do struggle to put up the last few reps and i do feel tired when im finished but the next day i never feel pain in my arms or chest. I remember hearing that if u dont feel pain the next day then u aren't gaining any muscle. Is this true?

No http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/bang.gif

Thats not always true.

can anybody expand on this??

If your lifting weights to gain size and muscle you should feel sore but it isnt always the case. When you have given your muscles a good workout your muscles tear and they heal and build up on top of each other.(this is what i was told anyway)
When you first starting lifting weights did you feel sore the day after?
When i used to lift weights, i got to the point where i was lifting up to twice a day and i really had to work hard to get to that stage where my muscles were feeling sore. Try mixing up your training, work on different exercises to target the muscles groups you are working. I found having a training partner there to push you all the way, always gave me a good workout and i was real sore the day after.

http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/cool.gif

to answer your question yes i did feel the sore the first few days i started lifting.but to ask another one, since u feel sore after u do different muscle groups in the arms, do u do different work outs the next day or the same ones?

You actually tear muscle fibres when resistance training, not the muscles (that would be quite painful). Your muscles after about 6-12 days gets accusomed to your type of training and try to adapt to the workload, once they have you kind of hit a plataue (no growth). In which case you should try using different ranges of motion and different exersices to shock your muscles into more growth.

Feeling sore is a good sign of a hard workout but can also mean you overworked a muscle or strained a muscle a little to much. In which case it has not fully recovered, so you should drink lots of water and take some recovery aiding supps, Vite , Vitc, Glutamine and maybe even Creatine(must be cycled) though.

[This message has been edited by Engel_54 (edited 08-06-2001).]

so without pain ur not workout was useless?

Soreness/Pain is NOT an indicator of growth. The days after I workout I'm not really sore just a little tight in that muscle. Also soreness comes from a number of factors. If you didn't strech you may become sore. If you didn't have a good meal after a workout you become sore... Bottom line is forget about it.

bottom line is forget about it? how can i know if what im doing is right

Well when working out you should be getting stronger at each work out. Also, you can see if you are getting bigger.. If not then something is wrong. Most of the time it's the food...

Keep a workout diary of things like; height ,weight and various measurments, if your not sure about your progress. That way you can compare notes later and see if your going in the right direction. You should always see some change in the period of a month, if you dont then your doing something wrong. Dont forget that nutrition accounts for most of your gains too, so make sure your taking in lots of nutrients (5-6 meals a day).

ok thanx alot people i will try to use your advice.

Yep, I used to be like that. Thinking if I'm not sore then I just wasted a workout.. Infact is was quite the opposite.

Taking measurements is a great idea. Usually though you can still get a general feel if you are increasing in size. Im sure we all pose on the wall mirrors at the gym after a good workout http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif
Take advice from the other posters and remember that diet has a big part to play in your muscle development and how easily/quickly your body can repair itself after a big workout.
Try and focus on certain muscles group in any one day.
So you might focus on arms (biceps) and chest one day then arms(triceps)and your back the next day. It really depends on what your training for and what areas you wanna focus on. Dont forget the lower half of your body too.