“I tried P90X once. I was soooo sore I couldn’t do it more than one time!”
If I had a nickel for the number of times I’ve heard that exact statement… I’d be filthy rich.
The question is more common than you think: “How sore should I feel?” is a legitimate question, and one that you should be asking if you find yourself in legitimate pain. Let me explain.
Anytime your body performs a new motion, muscles that aren’t used to performing that motion are challenged. Haven’t done a push-up in a while? Doing a few of them may just make you wake up tomorrow morning with some sore muscles in the chest and triceps. Haven’t done squats or lunges in a few months? Doing a set or two of those may just challenge those muscles that have been sitting relatively dormant, causing your legs to feel a bit sore the next day.
So what makes your muscles sore?
“When muscles are required to work harder than they’re used to, or in a different way, it is believed to cause microscopic damage to the muscle fibers, resulting in soreness.” (National Health Service)
Don’t freak out. The term “damage” doesn’t mean irreparable. It means that the muscles have experienced a bit of strain, in a good way, that causes them to feel exhausted the next day.
Does this mean you should stop exercising, or lifting heavy? Should you stick to low impact yoga and running/walking only? Heeeeck no. It actually means quite the opposite: You should keep moving. It means you should be working to strengthen those muscles to a higher capacity so as to get stronger, to help build tolerance to the types of functional movements (squats and push-ups) in order to increase your physical endurance and strength.
How do you know if you’ve pushed too hard? Anything you would qualify as pain (i.e., calling or visiting your doctor to inquire due to intensity) means you’ve overdone it in your workout, and/or sprained or severely strained something. If you’re just extremely sore (i.e., trouble walking up and down the stairs, sitting on the toilet, bending forward, or lifting your arms), that means what you’re doing is actually working to make you stronger.
While it might seem wise to “take a day off” the new routine to rest and recover, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Moving your body the next day is actually the best medicine, so as to enable those same muscles to move and “work themselves out.” Peak soreness typically happens 24-72 hours AFTER a new or intense workout, meaning the day you wake up with stiffness and what seems like a lack of mobility is precisely the day you should be pressing Play on your workout.
“In order to improve, overloading your muscles is required, but there’s also a law of diminishing returns in fitness. That’s the tipping point where you won’t get any more out of your workout and might do more harm than good. If you’re in pain, see a doctor.” (greatist.com)
The truth is, as you get stronger physically, you will also be strengthening yourself mentally. That’s the beauty in pushing yourself to a limit you’ve never pushed before. You’ll find, at the end of a program, once the soreness has dwindled, that you’re able to go further faster in your workouts, with better range of motion and form. Not only is that a result of your increase in strength and endurance, it’s also a direct reflection of the strengthening muscle found in your head: your brain.
“The body achieves what the mind believes,” I often find myself telling my PT clients. Your body will give up loooong after your mind does. Train your mind and your body will follow.
That starts with believing you can. With embracing the suck… the soreness that exists upon waking the next day. It means doing the hard work that feels uncomfortable because that’s where the magic happens, in fitness and in life.
Yours in Health & Fitness,
Jenny L. Swisher
CPT/FNS
Founder, Body Electric