Being sore is part of the game. You’ve used your muscles enough to the point where they have been broken down and need rebuilding. There are different kinds of soreness you will experience and at times it may feel like your bones are sore. Do squats, deadlifts, or a lot of posterior chain work and you will be walking funny for a few days while the hamstrings and adductors rebuild. There’s that spot between the glutes and hamstrings that stings every time I move. Or just standing up from a chair with that deep, concrete like soreness in my groin adductors.
Soreness is not an indicator of a job well done. If you’re not sore, don’t fret, as long as you put in good effort. It just means your body has adapted in a good way. The goal is to keep improving at the same movements. Do not chase soreness because if you crush yourself every workout trying to get sore, you’re just going to overtrain and hurt your joints, your metabolism, your hormones, your sleep pattern, and your immune system.
There are a few ways to limit soreness. You can take cold showers (yeah right) or you can submerge yourself in a hot epsom salt bath (much preferred). You can, and should, eat more protein. The muscles have been broken and need to be rebuilt. They are only built with protein. You can get a massage or use a foam roller. This helps flush out the bad blood with the broken material and usher in fresh new blood full of nutrients. Do the same thing that made you sore in the first place. Use no weight or light weight and do the movement seeking the burn. This flushes out the old blood and delivers the fresh stuff. And sleep. The only time the body truly heals is when it is sleeping. 8+ hours every night.
Larry Henrikson 