Posted: 9/5/2008 11:18:52 AM EDT
|
Do your muscles need to be sore after a workout in order to derive benefits from weight training? I read something that said the soreness is because muscle fiber is torn during lifting and then when it heals, it builds bulk. What about lean muscle mass, though? Do you need to be sore after working out? I am starting with less weight and more repetition, and I feel the burn while doing the lifts, but no soreness afterward. Just wondering if this means I am not doing enough. |
Muscle is muscle, "bulk" or "lean", male or female. Size is only affected by diet, i.e. if you want to be lean, eat 'lean'. To get big, eat BIG. Muscle shape is affected by genetics, but don't get to caught up in aesthetics. I can do the same workout twice and be sore one day but not the other. This can be caused by anything from lack of sleep, change in diet, time of day I decided to go to the gym, etc. If you're no longer experiencing soreness at all, it generally means your body has adapted to your workout; time to change it up if you wish. You can try switching the order of things, or increasing weight, or increasing reps. The only 'feeling' you need to worry about is pain. If something HURTS, stop. |
|
As long as it doesn't interfere with your next workout, soreness isn't a problem, but it's hardly a requirement. What's more important, especially for a beginner, is that you progress, either by adding reps or adding weight, from one workout to the next. For a beginner, there isn't much distinction between weight training for different goals (ie: strength vs. bodybuilding). You need to get a decent base with basic compound lifts before you start worrying about that kind of thing. A lot of (most?) women have an unsubstantiated fear of "getting bulky" if they lift too heavy. The truth of the matter is without steroids, women don't have the hormones to get bulky. Even natural female bodybuilders (who are trying to get bulky) aren't what most people would consider big. |
|
Thanks for the input guys. I'm definitely a beginner, so I'm unfamiliar with the term "basic compound lifts". Could you clarify? Also, should I be adding reps and/or weight every single session, or stay at one level for say a week or so before moving up? I'm doing this at home, if that makes a difference, so no personal trainers or experts to help out. Thanks for helping to educate me! 
|
|
Sorry. "basic compound lifts" generally refers to exercises like squat, deadlift, overhead press (military press), bench press, row, etc. Here's a pretty well rounded basic routine from Lyle Mcdonald. I would recommend reading that thread too for lots of good info.
RDL is romanian deadlift. It's a little difficult to explain, but if you check out exrx.net, there are decent video demonstrations. When you do it right, you should feel a pull in your hamstrings. Also search youtube for "Squat RX" for a series of great videos on squat form. As far as when to add reps, it's a good idea to start out with a weight that feels easy so you can concentrate on form (especially important with deadlift and squat), and resist the temptation to add more than ~5lbs per workout. Adding weight prematurely can hurt your form and be worse in the long run than a more conservative approach. fwiw, knowing what to do is the easy part. The hard part (the one that I have the most trouble with) is sticking with a routine. |
|
|
There are 3 primary ways a person gets stronger. 1. Their tendons/ligaments are re-aligned to create more leverage. (this is surgical) 2. They increase the amount of lean muscle mass that they have (this allows more force to be applied between bones and the tendons/ligaments allowing heavier weight to be lifted. 3. The muscle itself becomes more effecient at contracting (this is more of an electrical/chemical change in the muscle contraction - think plyometrics) Most people who start lifting weight to get stronger focus on #2 above. You don't need to be sore to get stronger but I feel that if you aren't sore you didn't get the most out of your workout. (so you may still be getting stonger but not as fast as someone who works until they are sore the next day). This is all just my opinion. |