Muscle ache

**TheGreatGatsby** · 16-08-2006 05:02 PM

Is muscle ache a good sign of a work out thats actually doing what it should or is it a sign that you're doing something wrong?

I always like to feel my muscles aching after my workouts - having trouble lifting my arms is always a good sign to me that I've done good weights.

Gats

**Aren_Tyr** · 16-08-2006 08:23 PM

A certain level of muscular ache is a good sign, I think.

However, at the same time, you should leave your workout feeling energized and pumped up, not so drained that you can barely move your muscles.

DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness, i.e. feeling really sore 24-48 hours later) is not a good indicator of "progress", and in fact you will probably find in time that if you are getting DOMS that it will probably disappear in time as your body's recovery abiliities improve.

I know that there are some people that advocate only training your muscles once they have fully recovered, even if that takes a few days. I do not follow this philosophy, since I find that it does nothing much to cause your body to adapt its recovery response.

I used to take a good couple of days to fully recover from a workout. I could only manage to do heavy deadlifts (for example) to failure maybe once a week, they took so much out of me. These days I am able to hammer them out 3X a week, often going down to as low as 2 reps to failure, and I feel mostly fresh by the following day. So a heavier training volume can improve your recovery response as your body realises that you mean business and it has to respond. The body has amazing adaptive capabilities; you just need to train/eat intelligently, build it up slowly and progressively, and force your body to make the adaptions it needs.

Of course, eating enough, in terms of quality, quantity and regularity is essential.

That's my philosophy, anyway

Aren.

**finlee** · 16-08-2006 09:12 PM

its your first proper workouts in a while/at all.

it will get easier etc

**TheGreatGatsby** · 17-08-2006 06:02 AM

I kind of look forward to it hurting! Don't really want it to get easier I like the feeling of not being able to lift the weights at low reps before dropping the weight and doing some high reps!

I'm a sucker for punishment I'm afraid!

Gats

**finlee** · 17-08-2006 07:48 AM

Quote

Originally Posted by TheGreatGatsby

I kind of look forward to it hurting! Don't really want it to get easier I like the feeling of not being able to lift the weights at low reps before dropping the weight and doing some high reps!

I'm a sucker for punishment I'm afraid!

Gats

no no no gats. DOMS is not a good reflection of a workout. DOMS IMO may show you've done too much.

You will grow if you keep upping the weights each week and adding some extra calories when your bodyweight sticks.

**TheGreatGatsby** · 17-08-2006 07:59 AM

ahh yeah it aches for like an hour or something after the workout but pretty much by the time I'm in bed or the next day there's no aching - its the initial ache that I like!

Coolio! have started upping the weights - adding in an extra low rep set with higher weights and am adding in cals all over the place! I thought yesterday that it would really suck to be doing all this just as maintainence workout cos I'm not eating enough! Hence the MP MAx whey Protein!

gats

**fletch2** · 17-08-2006 08:38 PM

Quote

Originally Posted by finlee

no no no gats. DOMS is not a good reflection of a workout. DOMS IMO may show you've done too much.

You will grow if you keep upping the weights each week and adding some extra calories when your bodyweight sticks.

i thought DOMS were neither a good nor bad sign really.I think they usually occur when a muscle is being used in a way it is not used to,for example if you do an exercise you have never done before you may get DOMS

**Bison** · 17-08-2006 08:47 PM

Quote

Originally Posted by fletch2

i thought DOMS were neither a good nor bad sign really.I think they usually occur when a muscle is being used in a way it is not used to,for example if you do an exercise you have never done before you may get DOMS

Not really, occasionally I'll get DOMS from bench pressing, even though I do them every week! Get them from squatting quite often aswell...

**fletch2** · 17-08-2006 08:52 PM

Quote

Originally Posted by Bison

Not really, occasionally I'll get DOMS from bench pressing, even though I do them every week! Get them from squatting quite often aswell...

yeh that wasnt intended as a complete explanation of DOMS or anything,i just think that one way which you can get DOMS is using a muscle in a way it is not used to