The Issue of Soreness

          Yeah, let’s go ahead and talk about it. The soreness… My God… The soreness. So first a little bit of medical backlog. When you are working out, you are literally tearing your muscles. Granted these are not massive tears, they are small microtears and the soreness that you are feeling is your muscles stitching themselves back together. So when you are at the point where getting up and out of your midsize sedan seems like pure agony after leg day, believe me, this is totally normal.

          Someone once asked me when the soreness goes away… Truthfully, it doesn’t. And if you are experiencing this, it is a very good thing. Now I will tell you that the soreness lessens but it doesn’t really go away. I will say that first those first few months you are going to be in agony. Keep in mind, soreness is very different from injury. Knowing your body means knowing the difference and that will come with time.

          Now, as you are first getting started, for those first few months, if you are working hard, we are going to label that level of soreness as a 9 or 10 and the recovery time will be extensive. Much like the alcoholics that need a little hair of the dog that bit them, I have found that languishing about in pain is not the route to go. During all my time, I have yet to buy any sort of analgesic muscle rub (which makes you smell like a medicine cabinet) but I have taken a few ibuprofen from time to time. Instead, getting the heart pumping and blood flowing back into those muscles, getting them warm and loose are going to be better for you than any over-the-counter product.

          We have talked about workout splits. If you have just got done with a heavy leg day, I do not recommend going back and squatting heavy again the next day to relieve the soreness. Rest and recovery are just as important as heavy lifting. But getting on that treadmill and getting that soreness worked out is one of the best ways to relieve that pain.

          Remember, when you are just getting started, you are training your body to do what it wants. Hopefully, as your routine develops and you begin to expand your exercises, you are going to find new ways to stimulate those muscles. As you grow comfortable with shoulder routines, say you add Bent Over Dumbbell Raises that you perform while sitting on a bench. If you have never performed this exercise before, the first few sets are going to be teaching your body what you want to accomplish and this should be done with a light weight. As you begin to master the movement, that is when you will start increasing the weight. As this is a new exercise, it will be “tearing” your muscles in a new way. So, when you wake up in the morning – boom – new soreness.

          Let me stress here. Soreness means growth. Soreness means you are doing something RIGHT. I think if you wake up in the morning and you are not feeling at least a little sore in the target area from the day before, either you weren’t going hard enough or your body has adapted to your exercise choice and it is time to start varying up your routine.

          As you get deeper into your routines and the weeks and months begin to roll by, the soreness level begins to lessen. Let’s say before the pain level was at a 9 and it took a week to recover. You will start to find yourself at a soreness level of 5 and recovery only takes a few days. So it does lessen but as you are rotating in new exercises and finding new things to do, expect to be sore the next day. It lessens but it doesn’t go away and the recovery time is faster.

          Now, I will note something strange that I cannot explain. Last week, Thursday was my leg day. I admit that I was doing slightly heavier than normal Deadlifts. I did Romanian Deadlifts (which target the hamstrings). I also decided on some Straight-Legged Deadlifts (which target the lower back). And then I rounded out the exercise with some ancillary exercises. Friday was a little bad in the soreness department but for reasons I cannot explain, on Saturday, my legs hurt worse than on Friday. This “staggered soreness” seems to happen regularly where it is two days after that the soreness really catches up with me.

          Personally, I like that where after I get home. I sit down on the couch and have some dinner and maybe watch a little Netflix and then when it is time for me to get up, I hobble about like a 90-year-old geriatric. I know I must look pathetic during these times but I keep telling myself that I hurt for that one day so that I can walk the other six days of the week without pain.

          Soreness is a badge of honor that you should proudly wear. It does lessen as you progress but those twinges of soreness and that dull ache when you get out of bed is always going to be there. It means you are working hard and for that you should be proud.