If my muscles don't hurt, does it mean they're not growing?

[biggestloser105]

I do some weights, but they're light (I don't have access to a gym, so I use free weights ranging from 5 to 10 pounds, I'm a female), I also do sit ups, crunches, push ups, squats, lunges and so on.

It's very rare for any of my muscles to hurt the day after I work out, so I am wondering if it means the workouts are useless and that I am not building muscle.

Thanks

 

[Steve]

The pain you're referring to is often referred to as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).

And no, it is not an indication of workout efficacy.

That said, it's going to be hard to force your body to positively adapt once you "outgrow" your weights. You have to impose a stress on the body that's above and beyond what it's currently accustomed to in order for it to respond.

Therefore, if you're always doing the same exercises using the same weights... after a while it'll get stale.

 

[summer123]

The idea you have is that you must totally fatigue your muscles in order to build them up more. Whilst some of this holds true there is good and bad pain. Feeling alot of pain after a work out is not an indication that your building stronger muscles, what your looking for is fatigue- where that last set of lifts, drops or whatever was only just about possible. This is fatigue, your aim is fatigue, not muscle destruction!