Waking up sore after a good session is one of the most common beginner experiences, and one of the most confusing. Should you push through and train anyway? Take the day off? Something in between?

Here's how to think about it.

First, understand what soreness actually is

The soreness you feel 24–48 hours after training is called DOMS, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It's caused by microscopic damage to muscle fibres during exercise, particularly during the eccentric (lowering) phase of movements. It's a normal part of the adaptation process, not a sign of injury.

Importantly, soreness is not a reliable indicator of a good workout. You can have an excellent, productive session with minimal soreness, and a poorly structured session that leaves you hobbling. The relationship between soreness and results is weaker than most people assume.

The general rule: it depends on which muscles are sore

The most practical approach to training through soreness is to consider which muscles are affected:

If the sore muscles aren't involved in today's session, train. Legs are sore from Monday's session but today is upper body? Go. The sore muscles are resting while you train something else. This is actually how well-designed training splits work. You alternate muscle groups partly to allow this kind of active recovery.

If the sore muscles are directly involved in today's session, use judgement. Mild soreness in the muscles you're about to train is generally fine to work through. The act of warming up and moving through a full range of motion often reduces soreness significantly within the first 10–15 minutes of a session. Many people find that light training on sore muscles actually accelerates recovery compared to complete rest.

If the soreness is severe, consider modifying or resting. If your legs are so sore you're walking down stairs sideways, a full squat session is probably not the move. A lighter session, reduced volume, or a rest day is more appropriate. Pushing through severe soreness increases injury risk and is likely to produce a low-quality session anyway.

How to tell soreness from injury

This distinction matters. Soreness feels like a dull, diffuse ache across a muscle belly. It's usually bilateral (both sides) and increases with movement before warming up and easing off. It typically peaks around 48 hours post-training and resolves within 72 hours.

Injury feels different: sharp or localised pain, pain in a joint rather than a muscle belly, pain that worsens during movement rather than easing, or pain that's unilateral when the exercise was bilateral. If it feels like injury rather than soreness, don't train through it.

The warm-up test

A useful heuristic: if you're unsure whether you're too sore to train, start your warm-up anyway. Do 5 minutes of light cardio and a few warm-up sets at low weight. If the soreness eases and you feel capable of a productive session, continue. If the soreness worsens or something feels wrong, stop and rest.

Most of the time, the warm-up resolves the question.

What accelerates recovery from soreness

Understanding what DOMS actually is helps you make better decisions about when to train and when to rest.