We’ve all heard the phrase, “no pain, no gain,” but that doesn’t appear to be completely true for muscle growth. Muscle damage does not appear to be necessary for hypertrophy – therefore you don’t have to get sore to grow! Keep in mind, however, that you still need to train hard and try new exercises to grow which will more than likely result in soreness. Think of soreness as a side-effect rather than the goal. Check out our article, “What Causes Growth?” here for more info.

From being a mediocre athlete, to professional powerlifter and strength coach, and now to researcher and writer, Charlie combines education and experience in the effort to help Bridge the Gap Between Science and Application. Charlie performs double duty by being the Content Manager for The Muscle PhD as well as the Director of Human Performance at the Applied Science and Performance Institute in Tampa, FL. To appease the nerds, Charlie is a PhD candidate in Human Performance with a master’s degree in Kinesiology and a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. For more alphabet soup, Charlie is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), an ACSM-certified Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-EP), and a USA Weightlifting-certified performance coach (USAW).