Question: Recently I have found that my biceps aren’t sore the day after a lift like my other body parts. I only lift it once a week, combined with back. For biceps I do curls, hammer curls, concentration curls, and preacher curls. 4 x 8 for each exercise. Is there a reason I am not getting sore? Is it over-training? I just changed to doing a 4 x 8 as before I was doing a 4 x 6. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! Tommy / Baltimore, Maryland
Answer: Most people rarely experience soreness in their biceps (and shoulders).
But, just like you can get a tan without getting burned, you can get big and strong without ever getting sore.
Just so you know, the reason you’re not getting sore is because your body is used to what you’re doing, so there’s not a significant enough amount of trauma to the muscle to cause the inflammation that leads to Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
You do the same 4 exercises in the same set/rep scheme each week. Change it up and you’ll likely get a little sore… but again, if you don’t it doesn’t mean you’re not progressing.
Dr Clay
