“No pain, no gain” is a longstanding mantra in the fitness world, suggesting a workout has to leave you writhing in a world of hurt in order to be effective. Social media supports this notion, with tons of TikTok videos showcasing people suffering after exercise—say, wincing to use the toilet after leg day, or struggling to put their hair up following an arms routine.
So, when you don’t get sore after a workout, it’s only normal to wonder whether it was even worth your while. “It is a question that comes up a lot in my practice,” physical therapist and strength coach Rena Eleázar, DPT, CSCS, co-founder of Match Fit Performance in New York City, tells SELF.
But is there any truth to that belief? We tapped experts to dig into what soreness after exercise is actually saying about your workout—and what to focus on if you want to make sure your routine is bringing on the benefits.
Here’s what soreness after a workout is actually hinting at.
There’s a term for the post-exercise aches: Delayed onset muscle soreness, a.k.a. DOMS, Dr. Eleázar explains. As the name suggests, DOMS isn’t something you’ll feel immediately—it typically sets in 12 to 24 hours after a workout and can peak around 24 to 72 hours. So if you feel great walking out of Pilates but wake up the next with tender glutes and hammies, DOMS is likely at play.
As for what causes it, there’s no definitive answer, but there are a number of theories, Teddy Willsey PT, DPT, CSCS, owner of Healthy Baller Physical Therapy in Washington, DC, tells SELF. The most agreed-upon one is that it happens when exercise causes damage or irritation to your muscles, he explains.
When you exercise, you’re actually creating tiny tears in your muscle tissues. You can’t see the effects of this impact—the toll is microscopic—but it’s believed to set off a very real inflammatory process in the body that results in the sensation of soreness, Stephen Ranellone, CSCS, an exercise physiologist at Hospital for Special Surgery, tells SELF.
DOMS is a lot more likely to happen with new-to-you exercise, whether that be a novel type of movement, speed, or weight, Dr. Willsey says. “Something as simple as doing a rear foot elevated split squat when you had been doing lunges could create a lot more soreness,” he explains. That’s because when you stretch and load your muscle fibers in different ways than they’re used to, they’re more susceptible to those tiny tears, since they’re not yet accustomed to the challenge you’re putting them through.
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