Do you Need to Feel Sore After Exercise to Get Results

There is nothing more annoying than that little git who claims that he's not aching the day after a tough workout. Sometimes you question if this person actually pushed himself/herself during the training session or did this person make excuses. Be ready to offer the benefit of a doubt.

What is this soreness that we encounter the day after exercise? More engrossing why does it come the next day?
When we exercise we create small brakes within our skeletal muscle fibres and by small I mean microscopic. We do not feels these brakes. Within the next 12 hours our circulating blood enters and expands these brakes and cause what is known as delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS for short.
Much research has gone into DOMS and physical adaptation. When skeletal muscle tissue damages it rebuilds with more density and strength. This response is centred around our body's need to handle the stressful environment that has been stowed upon it and will be stowed upon it again in the near future. DOMS does not cause the physiological adaptations. Exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) does.
DOMS has been used as an indicator of EIMD. What other indicators are there without expensive medical technology? There are none. So how do we ensure that our workouts are intense enough?

First of all we should never experience DOMS for more than one day after exercise. DOMS for 2 or more days shows us that our routine has caused too much EIMD. If this becomes a habit you will find that injury or overtraining will occur. This is drastically impacts results in the weights room or performance on the pitch.
Second of all we must not feel aggravated or concerned if we don't get DOMS. You may still have EIMD but various factors can prevent soreness such as hydration, body temperature and cool down routine.
Ensure that your figures are correct. A minimum of 6 exercises should be present in every resistance routine, a minimum for 3 sets per exercise and a total repetition range between 20 to 25 on each exercise.
Feel the challenge. Do you struggle to complete the last few repetitions on the last set? If so then you're using the correct resistance. If not it will show in your future training results.

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