Should you be sore after lifting?

[rburt]

hey guys, i was curious as to how you guys feel after your workouts. are you sore the next day or not? is lack of soreness from eating enough to repair all the muscle breakdown? or... while not being sore if from not lifting heavy enough? just curious as to what you think. thanks in advance!!

[mjh]

food yes. not heavy enough no. also the 5x5 rep scheme and compound movements of sl5x5 don't create soreness as much as isolation exercises in high reps. one more also, soreness goes away with consistent workout because your body adapts.

Weight on the bar, quality of technique and body stats are best measures of progress, not soreness or the almighty pump.

[sumoboy]

Yes, I believe soreness is a by product of the lifestyle we choose to live. I know it doesn't apply to everyone, but if I don't feel sore 2 days after a good workout, I wasn't intense enough - OR, as mjh said, the body has adapted and the need to switch up routines/intensity/add more weight arises.

Soreness can be helped (to an extent) with some good foam rolling/soft tissue work and some static stretching (ugh). Either way, it's gonna hurt!

Now that I think about it, I can't remember the last non-sore day that I have had in well over a year (whether it be from strength training...or snowboarding)...but to be honest I have never been happier in my entire life.

[baughmjk]

I don't know much about the science behind this all, but I can talk from my experience. When I first started stronglifts I was very sore, especially in my legs. This gradually lessened and now my muscles just feel tired in a good way. I've never counted my protein to make sure I get 1.5XBW, but I make sure to eat a lot. I would say some soreness is expected if you're new to the program, otherwise you might want to look at your diet.

[Mehdi]

You want soreness: do something new, something your body isn't used to, that always gets you sore. For example, I've been training with sandbags for about a week now, and it causes very deep soreness, much different than the occasional soreness I'm used from lifting weights. Just body that isn't used to it, will go away over time. Partial work in squat rack for singles/triples also causes a much different soreness than full rom exercises.

Soreness is bad way to measure progress. The weight on the bar or amount of reps you can do with a certain weight, is what matters. If it goes up, you're making progress.

[Firehawk]

It depends. Some light soreness is good, but if you're really sore either your body isn't adjusted to your workout yet or you're overworking your body. I can't imagine more than two weeks to condition muscles to the point where soreness should be little to none even the day after a workout. I only really experience soreness when doing a new lift or an exceptionally heavy workout.