Is it good to be sore the next day, or not? page

[camel]

So after a weight workout, is it a good sign that my muscles are sore the next day, and even the day after that? Or is it a sign of working too hard?
Do I have to wait until the soreness is gone to workout again?

[primalrob]

that soreness is called DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, and it's a good thing. when you work out, you stress the muscles to the point of tearing just a little bit. that soreness is them healing and getting stronger...which means you had a good workout.
you can keep working out if your muscles are mildly sore, but if they are tender to the touch you are better off going with some active recovery, like a good walk, swim, etc. Eventually, as your muscles get stronger and adapt, that soreness will go away.
keep up the good work.

[inesenite]

Short answer - yes! Lactic acid activates the release of growth hormone that helps muscle growth. My "sadist" trainer says that you have to change the routine often enough to never really be free of DOMS. A bit too extreme for me

[otzi]

Some of you may remember seeing me brag about doing hundreds of pullups a day...well, thing is, I could do that and not be sore the next day. A few weeks ago, I started a super-slow pullup routine inspired by Body by Science. Now, just doing 15 or 20 pullups in 2-3 sets leaves me so sore there is no way I could do them the next couple days.

Gets me to thinking, exercising just to the point where you are not sore is probably good for conditioning and maintaining what you have, but the growth and real benefits come when you exercise those muscles to the point they need some recovery time.

I'm only exercising each group once a week, want to see how that works out after a while.

[Heth]

I was wondering this too. I did a couple of hours of garden work on the weekend, with lots of heavy lifting and LOTS of squatting and I'm still a bit sore, but it felt like a good sore...a rewarding sore like after a good massage!

[primalrob]

Gets me to thinking, exercising just to the point where you are not sore is probably good for conditioning and maintaining what you have, but the growth and real benefits come when you exercise those muscles to the point they need some recovery time.

that's dead on. even after you've stopped experiencing DOMS, good strength work still keeps those muscles you worked beat to hell. i saw big improvements when i switched from three strength days a week to two. that extra recovery time really helps. i switched to metcon workouts last week, and i was sore, but it was nothing compared to strength training.

[LockeGilber]

I did a couple of hours of garden work on the weekend

[Rip @ MIPWID]

This will seem a bit weird...but I LOVE that soreness the day after a good workout. I was disappointed when it didn't return after my second kettlebell workout.

[Knifegill]

I had mad DOMS until I started taking potassium and magnesium. Now I can work out every day and not notice.

[Gary Conway]

If the soreness seems more than usual make sure you are eating enough and also that you are taking in enough protein for recovery