You know how it goes. You start a new regime and after the first session you are
Just So Sore…
I once had a client admit to me that she dropped something at Sainsbury’s. But she was too sore to pick it up!
How we laughed! Because we’ve all been there, right?
Those first sessions. Or the first sessions after a long break.
But as the you progress and get into the routine, the soreness start to fade. And sometimes you’re not sore at all and you begin to wonder…
What does it mean if I’m not sore after a workout? Am I not working hard enough? Am I not changing?
Not at all!
Read on to understand it better.
First of all, why do we get sore?
Soreness is caused by numerous micro-tears caused by extending a muscle more than it is generally used to. This present as a dull, achy pain or stiffness in your muscles 12-72 hours later. It’s called DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). All the group training members will have had that first week when they couldn’t sit down to go to the loo. Or walk down the stairs… Or pick up things they’ve dropped! That’s the pain that I’m talking about!
You get it a lot when you’re not used to the exercise programme but as you continue exercising, you get stronger… So you’ll likely find that the frequency (how often you experience DOMS) and severity (how “bad” it is) of this post-workout soreness might begin to decrease.
This is because your body can begin to “get used to” that style of training, meaning that there might be fewer micro tears, which can result in less soreness and a faster recovery. In other words, this is a sign that your body is adapting and changing, you’re getting fitter and stronger. This is a good thing!
So while DOMS might make you FEEL like you’ve had a good workout, it’s important to remember that not being sore the day after does not mean that your workout was useless or a waste of your time.
So how do you know if a workout is ‘effective’?
The short answer is tracking. As you will by now know, I’m a firm believer in tracking the details of a session: weights lifted, runs ran, reps performed. This is THE best way to understand if you are progressing. I also track mood, sleep, weather, but one might say I’m mildly obsessed!
There are other ways too: track outcomes such as how you look and feel, how your clothes feel and so on.
But of course the real determinant is how much did you put into the session? If the session was a lovely catch up with your friend and you can barely remember what exercises you completed (but the banter was ace), then it’s safe to say you didn’t work hard enough. If you focused and felt every rep and set… If you ensured that you were completing the range to the best of your ability. If you felt spent at the end and glad the session was over, because you couldn’t do any more… That’s a pretty good indicator that you worked hard.
So don’t worry if you’re not getting bad DOMs every time. In fact you don’t want to be too sore because this might stop you moving or exercising in the subsequent days. Less DOMs means that you’ll be able to train hard again, sooner. And this is probably better for your overall goals of better health and fitness.
Because as we know, this is a long term venture, and the key to success is consistency!
