Should I be sore?

[Legrandebazar]

I need to assess my fitness situation. Advise please...

First let me give you some details about my "regimen":

I am fine with my weight. I don't really care about the #, I just want to look and feel good. I am aiming for increased muscle tone...and I'm guessing slightly less fat, or for muscle to replace the fat. I am in pretty good shape and have nice muscle tone but I still feel I am not firm enough, or that there is a layer of fat preventing me from looking lean and svelte.

I have been trying to watch my diet (trying to limit calories as well as eating mostly all whole grain carbs).

I have been doing a decent amount of cardio. I take an hour long aerobic dance class that is moderately challenging (it's not like boot camp) but I do sweat a lot and I feel I am working hard during it. I do that 1-2 times a week. I walk up to 3 hours a week. I occasionally jog, and I am planning on doing that at least once a week, and alternating between faster and slower paces. I'm guessing I may need to up the anty a bit with the cardio to lose fat...

I stretch after workouts. If I am doing harder strength training I stretch my legs beforehand too, because I have an irritable sciatica. I also practice yoga 1-2 hours a week.

Also, I have begun increasing my strength training routines. I have started to use a dvd series of very challenging strength training that have worked very well for me in the past. I do that once a week and may increase to twice a week. I am going to gradually buy heavier weights as I get stronger. That dvd series (Jari Love) makes me sore for about 2 days.

On top of that I do lots of other toning workouts with or without weights depending on the dvd. (Although I use 3 pound ankle weights (1.5 lbs each) for all my workouts, not including cardio, for more lower body resistance) This is the real intention behind my post...If I am doing strength training or even less intense toning sessions--Is my goal to get sore every time? I find that with my more intense strength training I do get sore the day of and for a few days after the workout. But I also do some other seemingly effective & challenging workouts that work my muscles during the workout, but I do not get sore after. Again, should I be aiming to get sore with every strength workout if I want lean, defined, firm muscles? I don't want my muscles to be giant, bulky, or body builder like at all.

Also, I know they say never to weight lift the same muscles you worked the day before, so if I am sore, how long should I wait to strength train again? Until I am not sore at all, or until I am less sore so that it's bearable to do more strength training?

Know of any workout dvds that would be effective for my goal (firm, toned, lean muscles-less fat)? I do much of my workouts at home using dvds.


Any other advice you have for me to help me reach my goal would be much appreciated. I am hoping for useful, consistent information.

 

[InnerFight]

Soreness comes for a number of reasons and is often a good thing as it can be a sign that you have had a great session.
It can come due to over exertion of the muscles, not using the muscles for a long time, something different from what you are used to, warm up / cool down issues.
Like I said a lot of different reasons.
If you are "too sore" to train and actually in "bad" pain then you need to look out.
We have two different kinds of "soreness" and pain. Good and Bad. Good is where you know you have really pumped yourself and had a good session and feeling the effects. "Bad" is where something is wrong, Stay away from bad.
Some of the training we do purposely targets the same muscle a short time (1 or 2 days) after already hitting it, this is for mental training.
The most important is that your muscles are ready to train, if you are really stiff then you are not going to be able to have a super heavy session, but you may be able to knock a bit of the stiffness out of them.
Its a tricky one and from my point of view there is no real right or wrong answer, you have to be honest with yourself about how you are feeling.
Hope this helps you out.

 

[Legrandebazar]

I always experience "good" sore, which is why I aim for it...

So if I am not sore, that doesn't necessarily mean the exercise was not effective?

Any other advice...anyone?? I was hoping for more responses by now. If you have further info. about any one of the concerns in my post, please let me know.

 

[malkore]

So if I am not sore, that doesn't necessarily mean the exercise was not effective?

correct. DOMS is an indicator of muscle trauma that's being repaired, no doubt.

But I find that if you're honest with yourself, you'll know at the end of your routine if you 'really' worked yourself or not. You'll feel the intensity, and especially the 'pump' from lifting weights.

 

[flyinfree]

I was hoping for more responses by now. If you have further info. about any one of the concerns in my post, please let me know.

hahhaha you have 13 posts you dingo!

what? you think we were all here waaiting for you!

get real!

Sweat daily

FF

p.s.
you are sore because you are in poor shape, or you are not sore because you are in good shape. or that your routine is stagnant!!

what? you want us to tell you that youare so awesome becuise you are not sore... when actually, your routine has become routine, hence - you are not sore