Should You Always Be Sore After a Workout?

Q: If it doesn’t hurt after exercise, did you even count it?

There is a popular belief among fitness enthusiasts that even if the pain goes away after workout, they don’t try hard enough to get fit or strengthen their muscles.

But pain isn’t comparable to progress, fitness experts say. And constant pain is not something to put effort into.

“The common misconception is that pain means training is effective,” said Cedric Bryant, exercise physiologist and president and CEO of the American Council of Movement. “Some pains are normal, but they are not a requirement for muscle growth.”

The meaning of painful muscles

Laura Richardson, an exercise physiologist at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, says that when muscles feel pain for a day or two after exercise, it is due to microscopic tears of muscle fibers.

She said the pain would be relieved once the muscles repaired over the next few days.

Muscles often get stronger after pain, but that discomfort is certainly not necessary for muscle growth, Dr. Bryant added. Many athletes are painless after workout, even if they continue to improve their fitness and build muscle.

“This doesn’t mean that workouts aren’t effective,” Dr. Bryant said. Usually, it is a sign that their muscles have adapted to regular training routines and “more efficient with handling their workloads.”