Feeling it in the muscles

[Dons]

I have been hitting the gym 3-4 times a week for about a year and a half now, was very sloppy with going in consistantly before that, but anyways, I am pretty sure that I know what I am doing and know what I am talking about in terms of working out by know.
There is one thing that I still cant figure out though. Most people say that after a good workout, you can really feel it the next day. My problem is, the next day I can't feel it all that much, its the day after that. Is this normal, that I am not sore until 2 days after my workout.
Also, when should I really feast on the protien, right after, or the day I am feeling it in my muscles?

[pkagel]

I have a bit different take on working out than most but if you work out hard you will feel it than night. If you are working out just to maintain you won't feel it much at all, maybe a little tightness but nothing big.

As far as protein, if you eat a balanced diet you don't need it and will only overwork your kidneys.

[Will Penny]

It's normal to not be sore until the second day after a hard workout, or at least I hope it is because that's when I get sore.

[krj]

This something I cut and pasted from the "post-workout meal" thread:

There are two types of muscle soreness:

1) Soreness you feel while, or immediately after exercising
2) Soreness that you feel 1-3 days after a strenuous exercise workout

The first is related to a buildup of lactic acid in muscles that actually leaks out of muscle cells and stimulates nerve endings (that ultimately causes the sore and stiff feeling). This excess lactic acid is removed quickly (and naturally by the body) (usually within an hour of exercise). Some of the lactic acid is metabolized in the actual muscle cell in which it was produced - the rest is carried to the liver as lactate, where it is also broken down.

The second type of soreness (latent soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness - DOMS) is not so cut and dry, but there is a general belief right now that this type of soreness is related to very small tears to the connective tissues that hold individual muscle fibers together within the muscle (as well as some tearing of the membrane of the muscle cells).

[ProWriter]

Just a couple of things to add:

A lot of it has to with one of several variables, too. If every workout is essentially identical for a long time, your muscles adapt to it and you don't really get all that sore at all unless you change some element of it or train harder/heavier/faster/longer than usual that day.

Heavy weights and/or training sets to 100% failure on certain exercises promotes more soreness than physique/figure maintenance or improvement types of sets. (Mostly, those movements where the start position pre-stretches the attachment tendon, like dumbbell bench press or dips). Likewise, the kind soreness that you feel deep at the muscle origin (pecs at the armpit, lats at the other side of your armpit, biceps at the elbow crease, etc.) are more tendons than the muscle tissue. Tendon pain tends to start sooner; your muscles themselves often get more sore the next day.

If you train regularly enough to be "in shape" with respect to your training regimen, the soreness peaks 12-36 hours later and then goes away about as fast. If you're not in shape with respect to your regimen, you can keep getting more sore for 72 hours, and still be walking funny (or whatever) a week later.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you ever have to flex or shake stuff to remember what body part you last trained, your workout is not challenging enough for your current level of fitness with respect to that routine. I've been training so long it's pretty close to automatic and mindless and I don't get much soreness. On the one or two occasions that I've had to stop training completely for several weeks or more, even a very abbreviated, lighter version of my usual workout makes me very sore, and reminds me that I must be in pretty good shape NOT to get sore from what I do regularly. KRJ can elaborate much more on all that, right bud?

[krj]

I've been training so long it's pretty close to automatic and mindless and I don't get much soreness. On the one or two occasions that I've had to stop training completely for several weeks or more, even a very abbreviated, lighter version of my usual workout makes me very sore, and reminds me that I must be in pretty good shape NOT to get sore from what I do regularly. KRJ can elaborate much more on all that, right bud?

If you're referring to the information in your post in a general way, no I can't add anything else to it - good post PW.

If you're referring to my involuntary reprieve from exercising last year - yeah, muscle soreness is to be expected when you begin exercising again and eventually work your way back to the level you were at prior to taking time off.

Personally, I don't get a lot of muscle soreness either - partly for the same reasons as you (ProWriter) - just been doing it too long and know intrinsically how hard/far/fast to push on any given day. Also partly because I cross train so much.

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but interestingly I have had zero problems with my knees all this year (which has included a couple of 24 hour races and a 32 hour race). So far so good......we'll see what the rest of the year brings.

[ProWriter]

If you're referring to my involuntary reprieve from exercising last year - yeah, muscle soreness is to be expected when you begin exercising again and eventually work your way back to the level you were at prior to taking time off.

Yup, that's what I meant.

[AMG]

The good thing about soreness

You are damaging your muscle fibers meaning you are going to the gym and working out

They need to ger repaired in order to rebuild stronger and thicker

So eat plenty of protein, and from now on ice your joints after each workout 10 minutes. This will help alot!