Soreness ≠ Progress
Do you need to be sore to make progress?
Short answer: No
Can soreness be a part of your training process while you make progress? Absolutely.
But you don’t need to be sore after every workout.
Soreness does not need to represent how hard you worked in the gym.
In training I want the results to speak for themselves.
I recently had a client mention that they were concerned that they weren’t working hard enough because they weren’t waking up as sore as they usually do.
But in two months they were able to double the number of pushups they can do, which is one of their goals. All while not being as sore.
That’s progress. And working hard.
This can be a challenging mindset to change. Society can often preach the “No pain no gain” mindset. That if you aren’t rolling on the ground afterwards, you didn’t work hard enough.
But why put yourself through pain if it’s not necessary. You can achieve results without pain.
I like to train smart. Training to improve your life and your health is a lifelong process. Let’s make that process as enjoyable as possible.
Could you be sore after a workout? Absolutely! That’s a normal outcome of the training and recovery process.
Do you need to be sore after every training session? No. If you are, this could be an indication of a recovery and training process that could be improved.
This is not to say don't work hard. Just work smart.
