Who Wants To Be Sore?

You do not need to be sore to get a good workout. That’s right, you heard me!

Are you sore every time you go for a jog? Probably not, otherwise you wouldn’t keep doing it! (Am I the only one jogging??).

Of course you want to push your body past it’s limits in order to get into shape (I’m talking mentally & physically). But soreness does not have to be a part of every exercise.

This was hard for me to accept as I dove into the exercise world. I have always felt that if I wasn’t sore, I did not work hard enough but that’s not the case.

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Here is what happens with muscle soreness.

Muscle soreness is caused by tiny tears in the muscle. When the tearing repairs, the muscle grows. This is what’s called muscle hypertrophy. The repair of the tiny tears is what makes the muscle stronger. Obviously, the more tear the more soreness. However, you can still work the muscle without the micro tear & without becoming sore. Obviously too much tear can turn into serious injury which is why, when we progress, we slowly progress.

Minor soreness is what I hope for in my exercises because I am not looking to grow my muscles (at the moment). My preference is to cut some weight while exercising and then when I'm at that ideal weight, I would like to enhance my muscle growth while becoming toned. Endurance exercise (low weight, high reps) is what I find to work the best!