Should you always be sore after a workout?

If I am not sore after I exercise, did it even count?

- Melinda Wenner Moyer

There is a pervasive belief among fitness enthusiasts that if you are not sore after a workout, you are not getting into shape or working your muscles hard enough to build strength.

But soreness is not equivalent to progress, fitness experts say. And constant soreness is not something to strive for.

"A common misconception is that soreness means a workout was effective," said Dr. Cedric Bryant, an exercise physiologist and the president and chief executive of the American Council on Exercise. "While some soreness is normal, it is not a requirement for muscle growth."

WHAT SORE MUSCLES MEAN

When your muscles feel sore a day or two after exercise, it is typically because of microscopic tears in your muscle fibers that can lead to inflammation and pain, said Dr. Laura Richardson, an exercise physiologist at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology.

As your muscles repair during the days afterwards, the pain dissipates, she said.

Muscles also often grow stronger after soreness, but that discomfort is certainly not required for muscle growth, Dr. Bryant added. Many athletes do not get sore after workouts, even when they are continuing to improve their fitness and build muscle.