There are a number of common misconceptions in the health and fitness world and we are constantly hearing new ones from our members.
People who are new to fitness often have a hard time wrapping their head around the misconception of “I need to feel sore the next day in order to feel like I got a good workout.”
We often wear our sore muscles as a badge of honor and believe that if we’re not sore, we’re not doing enough during our workouts. But that’s just not true. Just because you’re not debilitated the next day doesn’t mean you didn’t get a good workout!
I was talking with one of our new members who is currently going through their Jumpstart program. Even though they have had great attendance and are already moving better, they have yet to feel sore the day after a workout, so in turn, have not felt like they have done a “real” workout yet. I assured them that YES! you’re absolutely getting a great workout in despite not having that feeling of soreness, but I’m not sure if my words truly sunk in.
One of the reasons we do individualized programs here at CORE (instead of group exercise or large group training) is because EVERYONE is different and their exercise needs are going to be different depending on their abilities and season of life.
Some of us will start to feel sore just thinking at the versa-climber while others can run, bike, and swim for miles and get up and do it all over again the next day. Some of us will get sore muscles from 10 bodyweight squats while others can do heavy goblet squats and not feeling any leg soreness the next day.
Soreness is a connection between the body and muscles telling our brain, “Hey I am hurting, whatever you just did...please stop.” This brain body connection takes time to develop and if you are new(er) to exercise, please be patient and trust that your body will figure it out in time. If you haven't used your muscles in years, that relationship will need to be rebuilt before you start feeling soreness.
One last thing, when it comes to fitness, there is so much more to it than just being sore the next day! This morning Eric, Kim and I were discussing this misconception and how our job, as coaches, is to improve your mobility, strength and stability, balance, self-trust, and make you more in tune with your body. Making you sore is not even on our radar and as Eric said, “who would want to be sore on purpose anyway… it hurts!” Soreness may be a by-product for some, but it is not a focal point in our process here at CORE.
So, if you want to be sore, we will do our best to accommodate you, but we believe we are more than that and we want you to improve your well-being, health and overall life through everything I have listed above. I had a football coach who always said “trust the process” meaning put your trust in us (and yourself!) and you will see results.
If you’re looking for more guidance with your daily habits and actions, check out our next challenge starting on Monday, May 6th. Taylor is taking us through 21 days of the Step Into Summer challenge that will involve cooking, sleep and movement habits. Please email me or Coach Taylor for more information. Taylor has done a great job with our past challenges, but we think this will be the most exciting one yet.
Thank you for being in our CORE family and we look forward to seeing and working with you soon!
Grant Malmquist