Muscles not sore

[Bluebell66]

I joined the gym in May and have been going regularly since doing a mixture of cardio, machines and free weights. Sometimes I feel sore afterwards but often I don't. Does this mean I'm not doing any good if I don't feel sore? I often feel like I'm wasting my time and it gets a bit disheartening. TIA

This may be a silly question but have you upped the intensity/weights etc since May?

Yes I have, my progress has been fairly good, not massive, but steady.

Should I maybe up the weight but do fewer reps?

Back when I used to see a PT he said you should aim to do the maximum weight you could do for 10 reps (and it should feel like a struggle towards 10) and do three sets of that for each exercise, rather than aim for lots of reps at a lower weight - hope that helps!

Thanks very much Cake, that sounds like very good advice, I'll try it!

Muscle soreness (DOMS) have nothing to do with progress. You'll maybe feel them when you do something new. But it's normal to not feel them even after a heavy workout where you have gone up in weight to a new personal best.

Thanks so much for that Just - very reassuring.