Too many people rush their time in the gym. I get it, change is uncomfortable. But, if you are serious about making a change, it takes a serious mindset shift:...
The Truth About Soreness
Just because you aren’t sore after a workout doesn’t mean that it wasn’t effective. I also think we have to be honest about the range of intensity of soreness that can occur.
When you engage in weightlifting you are creating micro tears in your muscle mass. Your body recognizes this “injury” and builds back the muscle to be bigger, better, and stronger. That process can potentially come with some soreness as you are literally damaging your muscles. A little bit of soreness is normal, expected, and you are 100% able to train through the soreness.
Sometimes, the soreness can really be intense. In these cases one of three things is usually the culprit:
- You overdid it in the workouts. The goal is to stimulate the muscles, not annihilate. Too many people go into the gym LOOKING to get sore and damage themselves because of that.
- You introduced a new stimulus. Any time you or your trainer switch up your programming, or introduce new exercises, you are more likely to be pretty sore. Your body is doing something it’s not used to.
- You didn’t recover properly. Food, sleep, stress management are major components to proper recovery. If you are constantly sore, you might want to think about your nutrition, how much sleep, and how you handle your stress.
Everyone gets too sore from time to time. The best way reduce the soreness and the stiffness that comes along with it is to reintroduce blood flow to the affected area. Getting up and doing some gentle movement like a walk, or some light stretching, yoga, foam rolling, etc. Getting blood flow will help to bring oxygen, nutrients, and recovery to the affected area.
