Soreness

"I want to be sore!!". I hate hearing this from my clients. They equate soreness to working hard and the effectiveness of their workouts. If I wanted them to be sore, I would just tell them to do some jump squats for 30 minutes while I go grab a cup of coffee. What type of programming is that?

I know there are trainers who pound their clients into the ground every session. But these clients do not necessarily look any better or are stronger than someone who doesn't get sore after every workout. Believe me, it is possible to work hard without having to feel like you can not sit down on the toilet the next day. Soreness isn't an indicator of working hard. It's usually a result of one or more things:

1. Getting back to working out after a long lay off.
2. A new exercise or movement pattern.
3. Increased load or intensity.
   
4. Change in the speed of the eccentric movement.

So it's alright not to be sore after your workouts. Are you making progress from session to session? Are you doing more work each session? Is your bodyfat percentage dropping? If you can answer yes to these questions, forget about being sore.