06/10/2026
Soreness happens. But a lot of gym-goers still believe this:
No soreness = bad workout.
It’s the same outdated mentality as “getting a drink during practice is weakness.” That myth should have stayed in the ’90s.
Be careful about the bro-science of chasing soreness. Muscle soreness is a normal response to training, but more soreness doesn’t mean more progress. In extreme cases, excessive muscle breakdown can lead to rhabdomyolysis (“rhabdo”), a serious medical condition that has made headlines in everything from football programs to group fitness classes.
In 2025, families sued a Texas charter school after students were allegedly forced to perform 300–420 push-ups without water, rest, or breaks. According to the lawsuit, multiple students were hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis, some experienced blood in their urine, and several were referred to specialists for permanent kidney damage. Article is in the comments. Coaches acting as trainers in the weight room is a topic for another day…
Unfortunately, some trainers still use soreness as a sales tactic. They crush a new client so they can barely walk for three days, hoping the client thinks, “That trainer must really know what they’re doing.”
That is an ego trainer.
Personal training is a service. It’s about serving the client—not feeding the trainer’s ego. That’s why I lean on the science side of exercise science: prescribing the appropriate exercises, loads, sets, and reps to produce the desired result.
I’ve even lost a client or two because they didn’t think I trained them “hard enough.” I don’t regret it. My goal isn’t to leave someone beat up; it’s to make them stronger and healthier.
Two of the biggest pillars of my coaching are appropriate exercise selection and quality movement through proper form.
So here’s the question:
What’s your goal? To feel beat up… or to be built up?
