Muscle Soreness

So, everyone has heard the person that just went to the gym, whether they're just starting or not, saying
"WOW! I'm SOOoooOOOO Sore from the gym! my workout was AWESOME! I can't go upstairs, downstairs, sidestairs....etc"
now, why do we all see this as "the way it needs to be"?
In short, its not.
at all.
lets see why.

When you FIRST start lifting, YES! you're going to be SOMEWHAT sore! if anyone has ever snowboarded, or any sport for that matter, and then took the season off to come back that following season to say "WOW IM SOooOooO SORE" etc, ever wonder why?
its because YOUR MUSCLES AREN'T USED TO THAT ACTIVITY!
does it clear up? sure does! its due to not only the media, but the whole "no pain, no gain" and everything else out there that has lead us to believe that its the only way to get in shape. be perpetually sore and that'll yield results.
no.

what is responsible for this is skeletal muscle, and orientation of the bones. such as, if you do an exercise, and get proficient at this exercise, and don't over do the SNOT out of it, you'll not only get better, but you'll be less sore. the body has AMAZING compensation powers. but, when you change the angle of the skeleton, even slightly, BOOM soreness all over again.

an example would be a snowboarder. they're great at snowboarding and the like, and don't feel sore after. then BOOM we have them play football. SORE all over again. but.. I'm "in shape" why am i sore? different actions. same muscles, different orientation, therefore new stress, new soreness.

there is a lot of "muscle confusion" programs out there right now, ala P90X and the like. "keep the muscle confused"
right.

so, football one day/month. then basketball one day/month. then soccer one day/month. then go back to football... what are you going to have retained/remembered about football? very little. will you be sore all over again? sure will. it is NOT proficient to do this. its going to not only confuse your body (like it said) but eventually, it will give up and become smarter than you, and keep in a spot of homeostasis.
ever lost weight to "hit a plateau"? thats your body saying "okay, you've gotten this far, you have to do something better and smarter for me to do anything more for you"
sometimes this can mean
1) be better with nutrition (most of the cases)
2) be smarter with program design (frequency, exercises, reps, resting time, etc)
3) technique (very very very important over the long run)

I have a LOT of people come to me about this, or ask after 2 months they're no longer sore "why?"
i in turn ask them "are you still seeing results?"
answer is, OF COURSE, yes!
so
OH
MY
GOSH! I'm getting more/better results and i don't feel run over by a mack truck everyday? exactly.

even use professions. you're in school. learning about becoming a carpenter. for a month.
next month, rocket science.
next month, cooking.
next month, personal training.
then you go back to carpenter. what the HECK are you going to remember after trying to learn 3 other professions? minimal to nothing. thats what your body is like

keep the program you're doing (beginners ESPECIALLY) for 3 months MINIMUM!!!!
get GOOD at it! build up your muscle! figure out what is working what isn't!

you should feel "tight" the next day, knowing that you worked that muscle group. if you're not, maybe you didn't use enough weight or do enough exercises.

one last analogy for you.

if you fall, and smack your knee, it will swell up. this is what you're doing with your muscle.
now, if you continuously smack it, will it become more inflamed and become more sore for longer? sure will. this is your muscle.
people don't get that when you're in the gym, you're RIPPING APART your muscle on purpose. why? so that it can rebuild stronger, bigger, tighter. this is a good thing when you DON'T OVERDO IT!
but, if you're constantly sore the next day, you must have really done WAY too much, or its a brand new exercise (usually not the case after beginners)
you're not going to recover, let alone get stronger/tighter for your next session!
heal outside of the gym!