I'm not sore after doing squats. Am I doing something wrong?

Question

I used to squat once, sometimes twice a week and I would get DOMs and soreness everytime, in my glutes, quads and other little muscles in those areas, it would hurt to sit and walk...

I have decided to do them everyday, I have also started doing front squats, it is my second week trying them everyday, I am into the 3rd day of this second week, but after yesterdays squats I am not feeling sore, here is my routine:

warm up: - olympic bar only - 2 sets of 15 repetitions - 40kg 5 sets of 10 repetitions - 50kg 3 sets of 8 repetitions - 60kg 3 sets of 8 repetitions

(it takes me a while to warm up)

Main course: - 80kg 1 set 8 repetitions - 100kg 1 set 8 repetitions - 120kg 3 sets 6 repetitions (my maximum is here)

Dessert: - 140kg static hold (above my max) 3 sets of 30 second static holds - attempted squat 5 failed attempts, had to let go of the bar every time - 160kg static hold (above my max) 3 sets of 30 second static holds - attempted squat 3 failed attempts, had to let go of the bar every time

warm down: - same as warm up.

the dessert part is something I have only tried twice...I have found that it has drastically increased my squat strength, my max shifted up by 15kg after only 2 days of trying it, but this is the side.

My question is, Why am I not feeling soreness? before when I only did it once or twice, I would be sore for 3-4 days, now that it is the second week into doing it everyday, I am not getting any soreness anymore, I definitely get tired, my energy is definitely sapped, the day before I just wanted to fall asleep in the gym after it.

I have asked my people to spot me and check my form, they said the form was fine, I go ass to grass, back is straight, feet turned out, proper alignment.

So I am wondering, why I'm not feeling it anymore, I definitely feel a little fatigued the next day but there is no soreness or pain or anything like that...

Answer 1

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is not something you should use to gauge the efficiency of your workouts. It's mostly only experienced when your body gets put through something it's not used to.

In essence, it's not anything you need to aim for. But in terms of getting variety into your workout regimen, it's a good indicator of "hey, this is new", which is often good.

If you're working squats with the intention of progressing weight-wise, then DOMS will sooner or later disappear, but will most likely come back once you change it up, and start going in wildly different set/rep ranges, or different exercises.

Answer 2

You started squatting more so you would get better at squatting. It sounds like your plan is working. You're better at squatting since you squat more. One part of being better at squatting is that squatting doesn't make you sore.

Two concerns: one, it's not clear what you mean by "attempted squat 5 failed attempts", which sounds a bit reckless. Two, if your goal is to get stronger, then you'll have to add weight, which you made no mention of.

But not feeling soreness is fine. Soreness is not a great indicator of progress.

Answer 3

As Alec said above, delayed onset muscle soreness is not something you should use to gauge the effectiveness of your workouts. Increased ability to lift more weight using proper form is the real test.

If you are worried about proper form one of the best resources I've found is the Strong Lifts guide. A key way to continue to perform squats well is to exercise the various muscle areas that contribute when performing squats. Working these muscle groups will help you pinpoint any weak links that you need to focus on. Find a link to these supplemental exercises below. The place that wrote this also has a good YouTube channel called Kinetic U which I subscribe to. I hope this helps you.

Strong Lift Squat Guide: http://stronglifts.com/squat/

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Supplemental Exercises: http://www.kineticsportsrehab.com/blog-index/am-i-doing-squats-wrong