DO YOU HAVE TO BE SORE TO BUILD MUSLES?

We often wear our soreness as a badge of honor and believe that if we’re not sore, we’re not doing enough during our workouts.

Is it true? Is the No Pain No Gain the only secret for hypertrophy?

Actually getting sore after lifting weights doesn't necessarily mean that you had a good workout that will lead to gains! It just means that you've outdone your body's current capacity to do work, be it intensity, duration or both.

What causes soreness?

• A new exercise

• A sudden increase in intensity or volume

• Eccentric training

• Concentric training close to failure

It's important to know that soreness can occur without any physiological changes in the muscle, it differs from a muscle to another and from a person to another. Plus it can have negative effects on your gains since you will be too sore to workout the next days.

So is no pain no gain a myth?

YES, you can definitely stimulate muscle growth without experiencing Painful Soreness. The most important factor for gains is Progressive Overload which means to gradually increase the intensity of your workout taking proper rests to recover and a good nutrition.