People often assume that if you’re sore after a workout, it was a great workout. Or, if you’re really, really sore, it’s considered “the best workout ever!” Is that what it boils down to? Do you have to make yourself sore in order to feel productive, or to gain a lasting benefit from a workout? Some people base their training on that superficial sense of immediate gratification. We’ve been raised to follow the tag line, “no pain, no gain,” which isn’t accurate. There is plenty to gain without being in pain.
The body, when appropriately and strategically challenged, may not be sore at all after a workout. That doesn’t mean going to the gym that day was a waste. The body needs to be micro-progressed to its own threshold. Too much stress on the body may cause soreness, sometimes to the extreme. Soreness indicates damage to muscle tissue, and hopefully not to any other contractile or non-contractile tissue as well. When the soreness subsides, this means that the body has synthesized, recovered, and adapted to the stress it was placed under. It boils down to stimulation, response, and adaptation. When these components are combined appropriately and strategically, the results over time can be awesome! Have you ever been sore for 4+ days? I have, I’ll admit, but not in a very long time. A day or two, sure, but we all need to learn from our experiences and figure out what our bodies are capable of tolerating. If you are sore for 4+ days, you’re not only being inefficient, but counter-productive to the exercise process. Sure, you can work other muscle groups other than the ones that are sore, but wouldn’t you rather be an efficient, tolerant, well-trained machine ready to go at any given moment? Be patient, train with intelligence, and reap the benefits!