86 Post(s)Gender: MaleGoal: Gain MuscleDate Joined: October 10, 2017
Posted
Hi. I've been working out for just a few months now. I feel soreness after my workouts in every muscle I train, however I feel very little soreness in my shoulders and pretty much zero soreness in my lats. Am I not training them right/hard enough? I know soreness is not always an indicator of whether or not you had a good workout...but I just find it strange that I do feel it in all muscles except the shoulders and lats. Any tips? Thanks!
7.1K Post(s)Gender: MaleGoal: BodybuildingDate Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Hey @nyyanks937, as you said yourself soreness doesn't necessarilly indicate that a growing muscle.. the muscle can still be growing and not sore. It might be to do with your mind-muscle connection for those muscle groups, and maybe you're bringing in other muscles to help with the movements which means the target muscle isn't doing enough work to become sore. Or maybe you have been training those muscle groups the same way for too long and you need to switch things up.
I'll link a video below to watch if you haven't seen it already, and let us know what your current shoulder/lat training looks like and we'll help you out!
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2.6K Post(s)Gender: MaleGoal: BodybuildingDate Joined: October 10, 2013
Posted
Lack of soreness is your body's adaptation to the stresses of training. It does not mean muscle damage is not being done just that your inflammatory response is not as high. If you do new exercises, increase the weight or intensity, or take time off then start lifting again you will feel soreness.
While it is a positive sign (unless it is debilitating pain which means you hurt something), it is not the main metric to grade your workouts. Just like sometimes you feel a "pump" and sometimes you don't based on your glycogen levels in the muscle. Size and strength gains will be a better metric.
John
34 years of lifting and nutritional experience and resident "old man" :-)
MS Athlete and past Super Hermanite since 2013.
86 Post(s)Gender: MaleGoal: Gain MuscleDate Joined: October 10, 2017
Posted
Hi Scott! My shoulder and lat workouts are the stretch/flex/overload workouts from your hardgainers videos (only difference is for the lats I do incline barbell rows instead of bent over rows due to lower back issues, maybe that's the problem?). I've only been doing them for a few weeks so I don't think the issue is that I need to switch them up.
Also, I do my best to only move/use the muscles that I'm working on as your videos always emphasize. For the lat excercises I make sure not to use mometum, just my arms and shoulders. After the back workout I do feel soreness in my middle back between my shoulder blades, just not the lats.
Thanks for your help!
7.1K Post(s)Gender: MaleGoal: BodybuildingDate Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Oh well that's good you're using the stretch/flex/overload series man! If you have only been doing them a couple of weeks, then no you probably don't need to switch them up yet. At the end of the day what John said is important.. "Size and strength gains will be a better metric" - if you're getting stronger and the muscle is growing, it doesn't matter if it's sore or not :-) Are you increasing the amount of weight lifted each workout so that you're giving your body a 'new' stimulus?
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86 Post(s)Gender: MaleGoal: Gain MuscleDate Joined: October 10, 2017
Posted
Kind of. I'm still in the process of experimenting with how much I can actually lift for each exercise to complete the given number of sets and reps...you know, the whole trial and error thing.
7.1K Post(s)Gender: MaleGoal: BodybuildingDate Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Yeah man I understand.. Once you find a weight where you can complete the given sets and reps for the routine, then you can focus on increasing that weight as you progress and that will break the muscle down (potentially making it sore) and get that growth that you are after!! :-)
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