"Working out when sore is okay as long as it isn't affecting your movement to the point where it's causing you to compensate and do something in a way that's unsafe," says Dr. Hedt. "Muscle soreness can be a deterrent to exercising, but it's temporary and the more you exercise, the less you should feel it.
If you're experiencing muscle soreness, you may need only two or three days of rest. Another option is to alternate your workouts to avoid overusing certain muscle groups. For example, if your upper body is sore, work out your lower body the next time you exercise instead.
According to Vagy, you can exercise with sore muscles as long as you no longer feel achy and worn out after your warm-up. “This is a telltale sign that the muscles are now ready to exercise because your body has done a better job adapting to stress,” says Vagy.
Hardwick says it's perfectly safe to exercise through the pain, though it's probably best to avoid the same movements that caused DOMS last time. “If you have this muscle soreness, don't do the same thing you did before,” Hardwick says. “Wait a couple of days before you go back to doing it.”
Generally, it's recommended to rest a muscle group for 48-72 hours after a workout. This gives your body time to recover and build strength. It's important to note that this timeline can vary depending on the intensity of your workout, as well as your level of fitness.
Rest One or Two Days Per Week. For the best performance and to reach your goals in the safest and most effective way possible, plan for one to two rest days per week. Olenick recommended spacing these out — take one rest day mid-week and the other on the weekend, or in between bigger workouts.
A training frequency of once a week will get you bigger muscles, but research as highlighted below shows that a training frequency of 2-3 times per week is more effective in reaching this goal.
If Your Glutes Are Sore Are They Really Growing? The short answer in most scenarios is yes. If you are directly exercising your glutes and eating enough to fuel your training, then sore glutes are the price you pay for future growth.
Exercise scientists suggest waiting 2 to 3 days before working the same muscle group. If you target the same weak, achy muscles too soon, you may make the pain worse or increase your risk of injury. Most importantly, you should always listen to your body and rest when you need to.
If you're experiencing pain or extreme soreness, the best thing to do is to rest and give your muscles or tendon the time they need to recover.
Many people experience acute muscle stiffness because of: Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), muscle pain and temporary inflammation that develops after an intense workout. Insect bites or stings.
"Working out when sore is okay as long as it isn't affecting your movement to the point where it's causing you to compensate and do something in a way that's unsafe," says Dr. Hedt. "Muscle soreness can be a deterrent to exercising, but it's temporary and the more you exercise, the less you should feel it.
“Without sleep, your muscles can't recover from the stress you put them through during workouts. It doesn't do you much good to keep breaking down your muscles without giving them time to recover and grow stronger,” Dasgupta said.
Whether you're sore from a workout or achy from sitting all day, it's time to stretch out this key muscle group.
Researchers found that those who performed gluteal squeezes increased their hip extension—or glute—strength by 16 percent compared to an 11 percent increase in those who performed glute bridges. Gluteal girth also increased in the group who performed gluteal squeezes.
“You do not have to have muscle soreness to build muscle or increase your fitness level,” says Vardiman. You might feel tight or tired, but not particularly sore after you work out. He points out that even if you're increasing the frequency and difficulty of your workouts over time, you might not be very sore.
Building visible muscle generally takes time, specifically anywhere between eight and 15 weeks, the experts say. "Substantial muscle growth can take several months or even years, depending on your genetics, consistency and effort", Pelc Graca says.
Most often, measures of fitness involve these key areas: Aerobic fitness, which involves how well the heart uses oxygen. Muscle strength and endurance, which involve how hard and long muscles can work. Flexibility, which is how able joints are to move through their full range of motion.
"Muscle pump" is really just fitness slang for a phenomenon called transient hypertrophy. Hypertrophy refers to the growth of a muscle, and transient means it's only temporary.
Conclusion: As you can see, the pecs are easily the muscle group that should be trained with the least frequency. This theory is supported by the finding that the pecs are the slowest muscle group to recover following training (11).