I've heard numerous people bragging about being sore after exercising. While a little soreness is normal after starting a new workout, being extremely sore or being sore every day isn't a good thing. Personally, I like being able to move around the next day. If you typically measure a workout by how sore you are, you might want to consider the reasons why being sore after exercising might not be good for you.
Anytime you change up your workout by adding more reps or trying something completely different, you will feel a little sore as your muscle adjust. If you keep piling on too much for your body to handle, the soreness is likely a sign of damaged muscles. Being sore after exercising every single time could mean you're doing more harm than good to your body. You want to be fit, not hurt.
It takes time for the body to become used to a specific movements. For instance, when you first start yoga, you won't be able to fully do many of the poses until your flexibility improves. Many believe if you're not sore, you're too used to the exercise. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Your body needs time to recover from the new changes. The best way to recover is by being consistent.
If you push yourself too hard during the first few days of a new workout, odds are, you won't be able to get out of bed once the soreness sets in. This feeling of weak, achy muscles isn't exactly encouraging. Instead, it makes us want to take it easy. By the time we're ready to workout again, we end up just a sore. In the end, we end up hating exercising and doing even less of it.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard people tell me the best solution for soreness is more exercise. While movement does help, it doesn't mean you need another major workout. In fact, until you've had time to recover, the only thing more exercise gets you is more pain and potentially damaged muscles. Still, many believe this myth and won't stop pushing themselves until the soreness fades which could be weeks later.
I used to believe being sore meant I'd had an amazing workout. While a little soreness can be expected, you shouldn't feel like you can't move. Sometimes soreness gives you a false sense of progress. The soreness isn't an indicator of how much activity you did or how many calories you burned. All it indicates is your muscles aren't used to the specific activities or number of activities you did.
For those who believe constant soreness is a sign of a great workout, the soreness actually leads you to working out too much. Most fitness regimens last anywhere from 4-6 weeks before changing the activities. Some gradually increase repetitions or weights every 1-2 weeks. This gives the body time to adjust in a healthy way. Piling on too much too soon could lead to severe burnout and damage to your body.
If you're anything like me, the worse you feel, the more likely you are to pile up on the couch with your favorite comfort food. For me, it's cookies, which kind of negate any of the work I did the day before. When you're really sore, you're far more likely to skip your workout and lie on the couch all day resting. The last thing you want to do is pile on more calories. It's much easier to meet your workout head on when you can actually stand to move about.
Don't let the major fitness buffs intimidate you into thinking fitness has to hurt to be effective. It doesn't. Listen to your body and don't do more than you can handle. How do you approach exercise when you're sore?
Source: yahoo.com