Last Tuesday, I did both the Tamilee Webb buns workout and the Kickbox Bootcamp buns/thighs workout. I hadn't done the Tamilee buns workout in months, since it tends to bother my knees (and tends to make me uncomfortably sore). I was SO sore for 3 days (glutes, quads, hams and inner thighs) that I had trouble getting up and down from a chair, esp. after I'd been sitting a long time at work. I was miserable! Yesterday, I did a long balance ball workout that I always feel in my triceps the next day, but nothing like the buns thing (i.e., I feel the soreness when I reach or something, but it doesn't keep me from doing my normal activities or cause me ongoing pain).

And yet, I work out 5 days a week most weeks and I rarely have any muscle soreness. When I am at the gym, I lift pretty heavy weights for 20-30 minutes and am rarely ever sore. So I'm wondering...is muscle soreness mostly about how hard you work a muscle? Or about working a muscle you haven't worked in a while? Or a combination of both?

I'd be curious to hear some of your experiences regarding when/how you do and don't experience muscle soreness. Also, feel free to theorize on the cause of muscle soreness even if you don't know the technical answer.

quote:

Originally posted by Jill:
The buns workout might target different areas that you think you are working daily at the gym but that you may not be hitting.

I think that's highly likely. I tend not to do a lot of lunges because they are tough on the knees, so the muscles that lunges target probably don't get worked out, in exactly the same way, through many other exercises. The Pilates workout I do does target the thighs quite a bit (hence my reshaped thighs) but they do so from the floor, not from a standing position, so it's a very different thing, I think.

quote:

Originally posted by Bee:
I have to say, that I generally like the soreness feeling as it's a good indicator that I worked my butt off : )

Yea, I would tend to agree with you about the kind of soreness I'm having today in my triceps, or the general soreness I have the day after a step aerobics class. But this soreness that I get from the Tamilee workout is beyond the soreness I have had from anything else. It's bad enough that people notice me moving gingerly and ask me if I'm okay. It's embarassing to say "Uh yea, it's the Buns workout I did the other day." LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Peggy:
Do you think that you might be doing something incorrectly in terms of form on that video? If it is really difficult for me to do something, I have a really hard time using correct form or even focusing on form.

That's certainly possible! I do try to focus on form, esp. in that workout, because I know how easy it is to hurt oneself doing lunges and squats the wrong way.

I am hurting in all the places I'm supposed to feel it--i.e., the areas that Tamilee's workout targets--it's just that it's more soreness than I get from anything else. Then again, I only do it every couple of months, so that's why I wondered if it was a "Those muscles don't get worked out in that way often enough." thing. I tend to have this same level/location of soreness EVERY time I do this workout. That doesn't mean I couldn't possibly be doing it wrong exactly the same way every time, but it just seems a little unlikely, I guess.

Thank you all for your input!!! More is welcome for those who haven't posted yet.

I find that I get that kind of muscle soreness when I work a particular area differently than I usually do. I can do the Firm and not get much soreness and then workout the same areas another time using Core Secrets and my body will be sore for days. I think too, how deeply you are working the muscle might make a difference. The personal trainer I used to work out with used to tell me to squeeze like I was wringing out a dishrag when using free weights or doing crunches and I was much more sore after that because I was working the muscle more deelply.

The buns workout might target different areas that you think you are working daily at the gym but that you may not be hitting.

I agree with Bee, I like the soreness!
Jill

Sheri,
Do you think that you might be doing something incorrectly in terms of form on that video? If it is really difficult for me to do something, I have a really hard time using correct form or even focusing on form. I have this weird soreness on the side of my calf this week from my walks over the weekend but I think it is because I developed some blisters during Sunday's walk and I think I walked 'weird' to try and stop hurting myself.

Peg

I generally experience soreness when I work a muscle differently than usual. For example, my traps are KILLING me today. I did ascending pyramids yesterday with very heavy kettlebells and I'm feeling it big time.

I have to say, that I generally like the soreness feeling as it's a good indicator that I worked my butt off : )

FYI, one of the best ways to decrease DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is to work out the sore muscle groups with very light weights either that same night or the very next day. Stretching also helps greatly.