soreness - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

man70 · 04-28-2007, 05:08 PM

hi i'm a [teenage] guy who just started lifting about a month ago. there is a considerable amount of growth in all of the muscle groups i've been working, but after a while it is getting harder and harder to get those muscle groups sore. i've tried to add intensity to my workouts through muscle failure. the soreness is a lot milder now and i want to know if that's a sign that the muscle is not gaining any mass or does that have nothing to do with it?

Naxis · 04-29-2007, 03:37 PM

Soreness is *not* an indication of a good workout. You always much more sore much mor eoften when you first start, but that diminishes as you get more fit. Occasionally an exceptionally hard workout or a major change in routine will get you to the point of being sore again, but don't use that as a gauge for progress or success.

man70 · 04-29-2007, 09:35 PM

but shouldn't i feel sore when i do such intense workouts such as muscle failure? because that is completely overworking the muscle to the point of almost being completely smitten. and that used to result in an amazing amount of soreness the next day and considerable growth in a couple of weeks.

thanks in advance

Willapp · 04-30-2007, 07:37 AM

No.

I don't believe that scientists have proved exactly why DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) occurs. All that is known is that it affects people new to exercise much more than seasoned weight users, unless there is a significant change in workout such as targetting new muscle groups in which case soreness can occur again.

I know this to be true, as I've been training about 2 years now, and haven't had any symptoms of DOMS for months (when I had a short break and changed my routine) and yet I'm still making progress and getting bigger.

man70 · 04-30-2007, 09:20 PM

well i'm not a seasoned weight lifter. that's for sure. but i think i'm in pretty good shape, and for example i was getting frustrated that i wasn't getting sore after the days i worked out so i did intense muscle failure. so what i want to know now is: is it bad to overwork your muscles? what happens?

thanks