You don’t have to limp around after exercising to be assured you had a fruitful workout. Pain does not necessarily equal gain.

As a teenager, I assessed my workouts based on my subsequent level of soreness. I assumed if I was gingerly walking around the day after a tough training session, I was getting bigger and stronger. I was mistaken. From muscleevo.net:

Exercise can cause damage to muscle fibers. But there’s very little evidence to show that muscle damage is a requirement for muscle growth.

Here’s how one group of researchers summarized the results of a study designed to test the theory that detectable damage is a necessary precursor for muscle growth [8]:

One group of participants experienced an initial bout of damaging exercise and the other had no detrimental symptoms of damage. Despite the different initial conditions, both groups experienced the same net increase in muscle size and strength. These results suggest that it is the total work done during training that impacts the final muscle remodeling, apparently independent of an initial triggering event.

So there is no logical reason to seek out that burn. It’s fool’s gold. From CNN:

Studies have shown that soreness itself (using a scale from 0 to 10 to assess the level of soreness) is poorly correlated as an indicator of muscle adaptation and growth. There are many factors that influence how DOMS presents itself in individuals.

“There is great variability, even between people with similar genetics and even among highly-trained lifters [and athletes],” he says. So while comparing notes (and commiserating) is all part of the process, soreness and DOMS isn’t the best gauge of how effective your workout was or who’s in better shape.

Perfect. We can avoid soreness, so why not just do that?

Particularly for beginners, I recommend a substantial ramp up phase to weight training. Start with little weight and very low reps. For example, if the 5×5 is the goal, start with one or two reps and incrementally build each workout from there until you reach 5 sets and 5 reps. You’ll avoid the agony of extreme soreness, which many folks use as a convenient excuse to not workout. “I should let my body recover,” they tell themselves. From popsugar.com:

Being too sore to workout may be a popular excuse, but it’s not always a good one. If you’re too sore from a rigorous hike, spend the next day working on your abs or arms. Or try another aerobic exercise or yoga — cardio and stretching can both help soothe your muscles.

Taking a walk or a swim on days that you’re sore is good behavior, but optimize to not get sore in the first place.

Nowadays, I rarely get sore. The 5×5 builds in ample recovery time, and my body appreciates it by being perpetually ready for the next workout. Unlike in years past, I’m able to separate a productive workout from a “killer” one. We’ve talked about this in past posts, but now seems like a logical time for a reminder. Muscle growth occurs through incrementally adding weight over time, not from getting sore.

Let someone else feel the burn.****