Cathe, S&H doesn't make me sore...

[bernajo]

Cathe,

I'm in the middle of doing a S&H rotation (alternating S&H and Pyramids, one per week, for 8 weeks), and it is definitely tough. I love it! I feel like I'm pushing myself to my limit, and my muscles fatigue at the end of each set, but I don't go as heavy as I possibly could because my form starts to suffer (especially focusing on keeping my shoulders retracted). The only question I have is why don't I get sore after S&H? The next day, I'm not sore at all. But after Pyramids, I feel VERY SORE (in a good way)! Is this normal, or should I be pushing myself harder in S&H?

Thanks,
Joy

 

[letswork]

This is just my humble opinion, but I think it's because S&H has those rests and extra stretches in between sets. The Pyramids move a LOT faster with no breaks. I have seen amazing results with both rotations.

 

[ducky]

I made a post a while back about not feeling sore after heavy weight work. I was concerned that something was wrong and I wasn't getting the benefits of the hard work. I am seeing results now, so I know that isn't the case. The funny thing with me is I get sore after endurance workouts. The high rep workouts are feel harder for me to do while I'm doing them too. Guess my slow twitch fibers are more resistant to training. This would seem strange too since I have always had a hard time putting on much muscle. It seems I get to a certain muscle size and stay there.

Pam

 

[Rose11]

Next day muscle soreness depends mainly on the accumulation of lactic acid. Your muscles have two types of fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch (they have subtypes, but I won't get into that). Slow twitch muscle fibers tend to respond to exercises that require lots of strength, but not fast movements and fast twitch muscle fibers tend to respond to quick exercises that need short bursts of strength. (An olympic weight lifter uses mostly his/her slow twitch muscle fibers, while a runner uses more his/her fast twitch muscle fibers). In pyramids you go from one weight to the other, you're constantly putting those muscle fibers to work, and the rest periods are extremely short compared to Slow and Heavy.

I believe that the reason you don't feel soreness is mainly due to slow twitch muscle fibers. In slow and heavy you mainly recruit this type of fibers which have more mitochondria than fast twitch muscle fibers, because of this, these fibers metabolize oxygen and generate ATP (for energy) more efficiently and thus prevent lactic acid build up. If you don't build lactic acid you won't feel soreness, but that doesn't mean you're muscles are not working hard.

When I'm on a S&H rotation I don't feel muscle soreness the next day either, but I know I feel the exercises while I'm doing them and I can definitely see the results. Don't feel discouraged, as long as you're pushing yourself hard enough while doing S&H you'll be fine. Don't worry about muscle soreness because it is normal with the slow and heavy series.

 

[WD]

Actually I usually do not feel anything with S&H. I get great results though. Lately I have tried upping a lot of my weights on S&H and have felt more muscle soreness. It was just mild though. I think I heard somewhere that you don't feel the soreness because unlike muscle endurance workouts you have a longer break and stretching which keeps the lactic acid buildup down.
Diane Sue

 

[CathydsRNA]

Interesting topic. I don't feel sore either, however, my muscles tremble during the workout and they feel somewhat weak for about a full day after the workout. This doesn't happen with the other types of workouts. When I stop shaking during the workout and feeling weak after...it usually means its time for me to up the weights. Although my heart rate and breathing are somewhat elevated during the workout (nowhere near a cardio workout however) I sweat more profusely with S&H leg work...don't know why. I am getting great results with S&H and cardio.;-)

 

[bernajo]

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback. I do feel "tighter" and more toned so far, so perhaps this is shaking my muscles up in a way that I am not accustomed to. I will stick with it though. I guess I shouldn't complain about NOT being sore! ;-)

Joy