Soreness- Is it Important?

A new client recently asked me "Should I be sore? "

This is a topic that gets brought up quite a bit, so I know why you want to know.

My answer for this guy was, yes. You should be sore.

He hasn't worked out in years so even a light (to me) workout made him sore.

The next question is how long will the soreness last and what happens when it stops?

It may last a few days. Then it'll go away, then you'll have it in other areas. Then that will dissipate. Then you may not have any for awhile.

Congratulations, you have adapted to the stress.

Depending on your workouts and your recovery, you may get sore again, but it will rarely ever be as intense as that first week or three.

Should I be Sore?

If you are new to weight training, then the answer is yes. But for those of you who have been hitting the gym hard for years, don't worry about soreness.

Soreness is not a measure of progress or success.

Some people crave the feeling of sore muscles. To know they had a really hard training session.

But remember that this is not necessary. Once you get past the first few weeks you don't need to worry about soreness. It comes and goes.

There are other measures of progress. Are you lifting more weight or more reps? Have you made your training harder in some way?

Have you lost weight? Has the size of your waist went down?

Progress is not measured by the amount of soreness you feel. But sometimes it does feel good to know you really pushed your body hard.