The Truth About Muscle Soreness: Does Pain Equal Progress?

You wake up the morning after leg day, and every step is a struggle. Sitting down requires a strategy, and stairs are your new worst enemy. In that moment of pain, you probably feel a sense of pride. You think, “I really crushed it yesterday.”

But did you? Many of us have been taught that if we aren’t sore the next day, we didn’t work hard enough. This “no pain, no gain” mentality is deeply ingrained in fitness culture. However, science tells a different story. Soreness is not the badge of honor you think it is.

Fact #1: Soreness Does Not Equal Growth

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS, is the stiffness and pain you feel 24 to 72 hours after exercise. While it is a sign that you did something new or intense, it is not a direct indicator of muscle growth.

You can build significant muscle and strength without ever feeling crippling soreness. Muscle growth is primarily driven by mechanical tension (lifting heavy weights) and metabolic stress (the “pump”), neither of which requires you to be unable to walk the next day.

In fact, consistent training often leads to less soreness over time as your body adapts. This is known as the “repeated bout effect.” Your body learns to protect itself from damage. If you are constantly sore, it might actually mean you are not recovering well enough to grow. Learn more about other fitness myths in our post on spot reduction.

• Key Takeaway: Don’t judge your workout by how much it hurts the next day.
• Action Item: Focus on progressive overload (adding weight or reps) instead of chasing pain.
• Bonus Tip: If you are sore, keep moving with light activity to help blood flow.

How Body Journey Helps: Track your volume and intensity in Body Journey to ensure you are progressing, regardless of how sore you feel. The data doesn’t lie.

Fact #2: It’s Not Lactic Acid

For years, people blamed lactic acid for that lingering soreness. You might hear someone say they need to “flush out the lactic acid” days after a workout. This is a myth.

Lactic acid is a fuel source produced during intense exercise, but it clears from your muscles within an hour of finishing your workout. The pain you feel days later is actually caused by microscopic tears in your muscle fibers and the subsequent inflammation as your body repairs them.

This repair process is good, as it leads to stronger muscles, but it has nothing to do with acid buildup. The inflammation sensitizes nerve endings, which is why movement feels painful. It is a necessary part of the healing process, but it needs to be managed properly.

• Key Takeaway: Soreness is a mechanical issue, not a chemical one.
• Action Item: Prioritize protein intake to help repair those micro-tears.
• Bonus Tip: Hydration is key for helping your body flush out metabolic waste products.

How Body Journey Helps: Use the nutrition tracking features to ensure you are hitting your protein goals for optimal repair. Check out our post on cardio myths to learn more about how different training types affect your body.

Fact #3: Stretching Won’t Prevent It

This is a hard pill to swallow for many. We have been told since gym class that stretching prevents soreness. Unfortunately, studies consistently show that static stretching before or after a workout has little to no effect on DOMS intensity.

While stretching is excellent for flexibility and range of motion, it does not repair the micro-tears that cause soreness. In fact, aggressive stretching of sore muscles can sometimes irritate them further. The damage is already done during the lifting; stretching won’t undo it.

What actually helps? Active recovery. Light movement like walking, swimming, or cycling increases blood flow to the muscles without causing further damage. This blood flow delivers nutrients and oxygen that speed up the repair process.

• Key Takeaway: Stretch for flexibility, not to cure soreness.
• Action Item: Do a 10-minute cool-down walk instead of just static stretching.
• Bonus Tip: Foam rolling can help temporarily alleviate pain by stimulating blood flow.

How Body Journey Helps: You can log your cool-down activities and mobility work in the app to keep a complete record of your recovery efforts.

Fact #4: Chasing Soreness Can Be Dangerous

If your goal is simply to be sore, you are playing a dangerous game. Exercising to the point of extreme pain can lead to overtraining and injury. It can also mess with your motivation. Who wants to train when they can’t even sit on the toilet?

Sustainable progress comes from consistent, moderate effort over time. You should feel energized after your workouts, not destroyed. If you are too sore to train effectively for your next session, you went too hard. You are sacrificing frequency for intensity, which is a poor trade-off.

Listen to your body. Some soreness is normal, especially when starting a new program. But if it lasts more than 3 days or is sharp and shooting, that is not good pain. That is an injury warning sign.

• Key Takeaway: Consistency beats intensity every time.
• Action Item: Listen to your body and take rest days when needed.
• Bonus Tip: Sleep is the best recovery tool you have.

How Body Journey Helps: Log your recovery and energy levels in the workout notes. Over time, you’ll see patterns in what helps you feel your best.

The Bottom Line

Soreness is just a side effect, not the goal. It means you challenged your body, but its absence doesn’t mean you failed. Real progress is measured in strength gained, endurance improved, and consistency maintained.

Stop chasing the pain and start chasing the progress. Your body will thank you for it, and your results will speak for themselves.

Take Action Today

Ready to track what actually matters? Download Body Journey today. Use the body metrics and workout tracking to visualize your real progress, soreness or not. Take control of your fitness journey with data, not just feelings.