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Is soreness the sign of an effective workout?

Soreness and workout intensity are sometimes connected. However; this is not necessarily a true indication of an effective workout.

What causes soreness after a workout?

The soreness we experience after a workout is referred to as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). This can appear within the first 24-48 hours after a workout. This can be a normal response to training, especially when you have just started training again. The soreness usually develops after completing some form of unaccustomed strength or aerobic exercise. It results from small micro tears in the muscle most commonly when the muscle contracts and lengthens. This micro trauma results in an inflammatory response and muscle soreness.

You will find the more you do of a particular exercise the less sore you will become. This is a classic example of the body adapting to certain exercises. Does this mean the session was a complete waste of time? Of course not.

Choosing the right workout intensity.

A good workout, is one that the body can adapt too and move us closer to our training goal. Ideally, we want to pick an intensity that is not too difficult or too easy. Finding an intensity between these two points, will help us get the gains we are after. Pushing ourselves extremely hard, might create a lot of soreness, but may be beyond our ability to adapt optimally. Scheduling in higher intensity sessions into our training is fine on occasions. But completing maximal intensity workouts every session, may lead to over training and injury. This is definitely the type of soreness we want to avoid. To know if the workouts you are completing are truly effective, you need to test, train and retest. If you are able to lift more or run further on your retest you know your headed in the right direction.

Remember the soreness you experience may come from;

Unaccustomed exercise

Exercise that causes the muscle to contract and lengthen simultaneously

If you are new to training

Training to failure

But these are not an indication that the workout was effective.

If you need help with an individualized, progressive training plan, to help you achieve your goals, please speak with your Accredited Exercise Physiologist.