It seems every time I take up weightlifting again, the harsh soreness of exercising vanishes after a week. Increasing the weight seems to do nothing to rectify it, neither does trying to squeeze out any more repetitions, or sets. What's the deal? Is this normal? If what lifts I do are of any relevance, here they are: 3 sets of 6-8 dips followed by 1 set of 6-8 bench press (something I added in to try and bring the soreness back, didnt work!) 3 sets of 6-8 chinups 3 sets of 6-8 deadlifts (the way I do them, I also kind of do them as a squat, so it strains the legs quite a bit.) 3 sets of 6-8 military presses 3 sets of 6-8 upright rows
Do you change the weight you're lifting or the number of repitions done to prevent your muscles from becoming too used to the strain? Try increasing the amount you bench press, or strapping a weight around your waist for the dips, that might help. EDIT: My first post, hello everyone!
I do that already. I increase weight, not repetitions. Increasing repetitions isnt the way to develop more strength, duh. But when I do them to failure, I don't feel sore afterwards.
Hey shoebox... Welcome to MAP! Tireces ... how mush weight? when do you lift and how often?? You may need to changeup your routine as your muscles are becoming too accustomed to the same ole stuff you may be doing. They need to be challenged every so often.
This means several different runs at it, with different lifts used. And this always happens after a WEEK. Not several consecutive months, a week. And I only do one kind of lift a week, loosely breaking it up into three days, grouping them based on what they work. But THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS, no matter what I do. I can work myself until I literally have to drop the weights (or fall, in the case of bodyweight exercises), but no soreness whatsoever. It almost winds up being like I didnt lift at all after a few minutes. I know all about workouts going stale, I've read more on lifting weights than probably most people here have in my feeble quest to stop being a weakling. But no one ever mentions the possibility of workouts going stale after a week, its more like several months. How could workouts go stale after a mere week?
the soreness you are talking about, is it painful or a pumped feeling? The painful feeling should pretty much go away after you have lifted a few times. If you stretch before you lift then it will be even further reduced. If you are not getting a pumped feeling then it could be that you are not using enough weight, not doing enough sets or reps or have a nutritional issue.
The "pumped" feeling is there. Looked down when I was doing my bench set today and I watched and veins were appearing all over my chest. Its just that the muscles dont get sore like they did when I started a short while ago. The exact feeling is hard to describe. It kind of makes the muscles feel a lot tighter and in pain, though not really anything that unpleasant. Thats the feeling I've lost. I was hoping its just a normal thing, because so far this is really working out nicely for me. I'm already at the bodyweight an old doctor of mine said I could never surpass. Soon I'll prove him totally wrong and get past it.
The soreness you complain of missing is NOT a good indicator of a thorough workout OR of imminent growth! As long as you are moving up in poundages, you are progressing - and that is what counts. Jack
Its perfectly normal that the soreness you talk about disappeares. For most people after 2-3 workouts after a break/initial start this soreness disappears. Being sore after a workout is in no way a good indicator that you are doing something right/wrong. Some people get sore more often, some do not. Your workout doesnt go stale until you reach some sort of a plateu, that usually takes more then a week and when it happens, you'll know because you seem unable to lift more weights. You can find more on that issue somewhere around here. Just enjoy that you don't get sore anymore. Do your normal routine and don't try to push yourself further just to get sore. P.S. if it were normal to always be sore after a workout, imagine the life of a bodybuilder...oh the pain!
... that was silly now wasn't it.... we all know that Yoda is "superman"! What I mean't is consider yourself very lucky if you aren't feeling that soreness. You usually experience that soreness when first working a new muscle. But it is usually after a few weeks of lifting, and not just a mere week that one might feel no soreness ...(which is a rewarding soreness from the burn)..... For those that don't understand....when you work out with weights quite often you are not getting enough oxygen to the muscles efficiently enough and you create lactid acid which will give you the burning sensation. This results in micro trauma to each muscle fiber, tearing them apart so that your muscles will come back stronger and bigger. This is when your muscles need to recover and you'll feel a little sore. That "pump" is there? ... the pump is caused by blood circulating bringing more water and oxygen to the hard working muscle. Maybe you can try contracting your muscles differently within the movement. There are three different types of muscle contractions. A "concentric" contraction is when you pull a weight toward you as when performing a bicep curl. In this phase the muscle shortens simultaneously. So what comes up must go down, visa versa of the concentric contraction is the "eccentric" contraction. This is when you slowly lower the weight back to your starting point. The muscle fibers have to jump through lots of physical and chemical hoops during this phase because in order to lower the weight, the muscle fibers must lengthen. But the fibers are also trying to support the weight you are lifting, which means they have to stay in the short phase as well. This same time lengthening and shortening of the muscle puts it under a great deal of tension causing microtears and severe delayed-onset muscle soreness. And it's true they say you need that damage to induce growth. The third type of muscle contraction is called an "isometric" contraction, where force against the muscle is generated without either lengthening or shortening, like the tension created when you press the palms of your hands together. So you may need to incorporate more eccentric contractions in your lifting. Not so silly eh??
DOMS or as we like to call it in the trade- Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness as said allready is no indication of a good workout. It is perfectly normal when starting a new routine but it is in no way something to strive for each time. More then likely when people are experiencing severe DOMS it is down to the fact that they have not warmed up, stetched, cooled down and stretched properly or sufficiently. So long as your weights are progressing then that will be the stimulus to growth throughout the body. If you are experiencing severe DOMS then more then likely you have eiter not done the above mentioned OR you have givenb your body TOO much stress to cope with.
I totally agree with combatant infact, I was just about to write something similar myself, but with a possible mention to adjusted sensory organs. If the damage kickchick occures often (it does if you train regularly) the sensory system adjusts, its like when you get into a hot shower, at first it might seem unbearable, but after a few minutes you stop noticing the heat. I dont know for a fact that this rule applies here, but it sounds likely given the facts.
I mentioned that you might want to increase your repititions to emphasize that a changing work-out is the key. You don't want to be lifting for strength all the time. I did not mean to imply that adding reps would increase your strength, in fact, lowering your reps would. -shoebox EDIT: You could even try different exercises to work your muscles in a different way. For example, instead of the brench press, maybe some incline presses would help. 2nd EDIT: Try some forced reps too. After you do your reps to failure, do 3 to 5 more with the assistance of your spotter.
Your lucky guy Tireces. I know what your after, Its that feeling that tells you actually did something at the gym the other day. But no worries, your obviously one of the few that recover very fast and I think that is a big advantage. I myself am complitely the opposite. Have always been. No matter what I do or how much I eat afterwards I always have to have at least 12 hours more time to recover than the guys I train with. If you get the pump and decent advancements in weights - just go for it. You obviously don't have to worry about overtraining too much. Cheers mate! Apache
When the gains start slowing down, isnt that the time to change the training routine? Make it either lower weights higher reps or lower reps higher weights (depending on what your doing?)
