Soreness From HIT Workouts

Usually when I do HIT workouts on my chest, its sore for a few days, but when I did minimal rest between sets like said before, good pump, but there’s no soreness the next day almost like I didn’t do enough. Which is better, no soreness, or soreness?

Soreness is not the best indicator or a good workout. Too many other variables. If all else is constant though, I’d prefer to be sore, but that’s more of a psychological thing.

Adding weight to the bar or being able to do more reps with the same weight is a better indicator of progress.
Usually soreness subsides once proper nutrition is in place and as you adapt to the new stimulus.

Soreness is a side effect of training, usually happens when you do something your body isn’t used to ie new routine, new exercise or better yet, PROGRESS. How people train to failure and don’t get sore I don’t understand, but in the end it’s the progress you make that matters and not the soreness you feel.

IMO, no soreness is better because it allows you to train your other muscle groups without the pain, allowing you to do more, which could mean progressing more. However, it’s refreshing to be sore once in a while as it reminds you of your vulnerability.

I ususally train to failure, and in general I’m sore to some degree after everyworkout. SOme may disagree but to me soreness is an indicator of progress and hardwork.

So how long is good soreness? I’ve noticed that after some chest workouts, it could last up to 4 days. Is that too long?

[quote]sed26 wrote:
So how long is good soreness? I’ve noticed that after some chest workouts, it could last up to 4 days. Is that too long?[/quote]

2 days tops for me, any longer thn that i would take a look at postworkout nutrition.

I would look at all day nutrition. Some people have poor recovery, but I wouldn’t jump the gun on that till you can be honest with yourself that you are maximizing everything in your control to recover properly.

HIT takes you 4 days sometimes? Are you using beyond failure techniques like forced reps or negatives, drops, pre/post exhausst, or just one straight set to failure?

Ever since i understood nutrition for me i hardly get sore, even doing drop sets and other intensity techniques… what does get me sore is when i manage to make a good jump in weight :slight_smile:
Since i see no difference in progression , in the weeks i am sore , or in the weeks i am not, i do not gauge by it.

[quote]Scott M wrote:
I would look at all day nutrition. Some people have poor recovery, but I wouldn’t jump the gun on that till you can be honest with yourself that you are maximizing everything in your control to recover properly.

HIT takes you 4 days sometimes? Are you using beyond failure techniques like forced reps or negatives, drops, pre/post exhausst, or just one straight set to failure?[/quote]

Never used beyond failure or anything. I almost never use spotters so its not to failure because I usually put the bar up when I feel I can’t get 1 more rep. No drops or anything special. I did 3 sets of flat bench, 3 sets on incline, 2 burnouts on incline and flat dumbbell press. Sometimes I would throw in some cables.

I think maybe I was doing too much because in the bench I would go heavy on every set with a warm up set before hand to get the blood pumping. I worked whereas I would need around 3:30 minutes to recover and do another set. But I’m trying to get my plan ready for when football is over. Today I maxed out at 355 lbs. Which I think is weak compared to what I could’ve possibly done had I not hurt my shoulder during a game.

Everyone there was astounded but I knew I could’ve broke 400 easy. I used to bench press 245-10 times, but when I injured my shoulder, I fell back and only did light weights until it healed. Back then when I was weaker, I could only bench 225 11 times and still got 350, but after football that’s when the real training kicks in because then there won’t be any injuries holding me back.

[quote]sed26 wrote:
I did 3 sets of flat bench, 3 sets on incline, 2 burnouts on incline and flat dumbbell press. Sometimes I would throw in some cables.
[/quote]

That’s not HIT, not even close.

Well its kind of like that for me atleast. I’m not advanced but not a beginner. I always worked out with low reps around 4-6 with heavy weight. But really it was until the end month of that kind of training that I stopped going heavy on the dumbbells and started burning out with those.

I used to to 4-6 reps with heavy sets on arms too and I would notice that I would be sore and it intervened with working out other body parts too.

You aren’t understanding what HIT is. For the most part it’s 1 set per bodypart to/beyond failure. Check out www.drdarden.com for what we are talking about.

I don’t train to get sore, but I’ve never had a workout in my life, that I meant, that didn’t leave me that way.