Should we train with muscle pain from the previous workout?
After training a muscle, you may feel sore the next day, which is part of the muscle hypertrophy process. However, many people wonder whether they should train with muscle soreness from the previous workout.
It's generally safe to train a muscle that's still sore from a previous workout, and it won't affect your results. However, it's important to distinguish between muscle soreness, which occurs in the trained muscle and is part of the process of muscle hypertrophy, and joint pain, which may indicate an injury.
Muscle pain after training, also known as delayed onset muscle soreness , occurs due to micro-injuries in the muscle fibers and byproducts generated by the use of increasingly greater loads, an unprecedented effort for the body, such as starting to train for the first time, returning to training after a period of inactivity or simply starting a new workout.
The body responds to micro-injuries caused by training with a process of repair and adaptation, which includes local inflammation and increased blood circulation to the affected area, contributing to the pain and stiffness typically felt 24 to 48 hours after training.
While it may be uncomfortable, this pain is a sign that the body is adapting and getting stronger. Over time and with continued exercise, the occurrence and intensity of pain tend to decrease as the muscles adapt to repeated exertion.
Can I train a muscle that is still sore from the previous workout?
If you're following a proper workout, it's usually okay to train a muscle that's still sore from a previous workout, and doing so can even help relieve pain and stiffness by increasing blood flow to the affected muscles.
Under normal circumstances, training a sore muscle won't affect your results. On the contrary, it will generate adaptations that allow you to recover faster and faster between workouts.
However, it's crucial to differentiate between normal muscle soreness and a potential injury (more on that later). Furthermore, muscle soreness tends to subside over time, but if you're chronically sore, it's a good idea to ensure your workout routine allows for the minimum amount of rest needed between sessions that train the same muscle.
How to differentiate between normal muscle pain and an injury?Normal muscle soreness, as mentioned earlier, usually appears 24 to 48 hours after exercise and manifests as a feeling of generalized pain in the muscles that were trained directly and indirectly.
For example, if you've done free squats, it's normal to feel muscle pain in your legs and even your lower back. There's also no pain localized to a very specific point—the pain is widespread.
In contrast, the pain caused by an injury tends to be more acute and localized. Muscle injuries, such as strains or tears, often result in immediate pain during the workout itself.
In addition to severe, localized pain, other signs of injury include swelling, bruising, loss of function or mobility in the affected muscle, and persistent pain that does not improve after several days of rest.
Finally, it's important to separate muscle pain from joint pain. For example, if you train legs, it's normal to feel pain in your leg muscles, not your knee, ankle, or spine. If you suspect a joint injury, avoid training and seek professional help.
Is muscle pain synonymous with a well-done workout?
Feeling muscle soreness after a workout actually means you've overloaded the muscle in a way it's not used to. However, pain alone isn't a reliable indicator of whether a workout is good or bad. Furthermore, the absence of pain doesn't necessarily mean a bad workout.
See, muscle soreness after a workout can occur when you impose any new stress on the trained muscles. For example, if you completely change your workout and include new exercises or exercises you haven't done in a while, you may be sore the next day, but this doesn't mean the new workout was effective. It just means you did something different from your usual routine.
On the other hand, your body has the ability to increase its pain tolerance when exposed to some type of repetitive activity. In other words, you can perform a good workout but not necessarily experience muscle soreness or feel that the pain is becoming less intense.
An effective strength training program is one that is planned and structured to achieve a specific goal, such as muscle hypertrophy. In the case of hypertrophy, this training should include progressive overload , where the intensity (load, repetitions, sets) is gradually increased to continually challenge the muscles.
In other words, an effective workout is one where you were able to do more than the previous workout. It's not always possible to do more, but trying to do more or challenging your body in some way still counts as an effective workout.
Conversely, a workout where you only do what you already know you can do, without trying to increase the workload or challenge your muscles in any way, is generally not an effective workout, even if you sweat a lot or feel muscle soreness the next day.
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