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One thing that is important to note is that there is no correlation between soreness and strength/size increase within trained athletes. Soreness is more of an indication of a lifter not training with a given workload/volume enough to become accostomed to it. The vast majority of athletes on a good program that balances volume/intensity/frequency do not get sore at all unless they've taken a break or drastically switched something up. This is true for natural as well as drug enhanced athletes.
Look at a typical BBer type program. They will have a designated leg day once a week where they bomb the hell out of them, frequently going to failure on a mishmash of exercises - many of which serve only to deplete recuperative power, and rarely in the context of a systematic volume/intensity pattern for a training cycle (single factor supercompensation taken to the extreme). Then look at an olympic lifter or even an off season sprinter/thrower. They tend not to have a lot of assistance work but squat 2-3x per week and end up hitting their legs with a variety of other exercises (cleans, snatches etc...). They don't get sore, have no problem putting on weight (some have to curtail their diet so as not to gain too much and very few worry about their diet much beyond the basics), and have a good record for getting progressively stronger over time (there is a reason why the best coaches in the world don't have people training to failure and instead pay attention to volume and intensity regulation over a period). These athletes and their off season programs tend to be a lot more successful at consistently adding muscle than their bodybuilder counterparts. It boils down to better training (not harder work, just training smarter). It's not "all in the diet" as is frequently quoted. Meeting basic caloric and nutrient requirements for growth is not difficult.
Look at a typical BBer type program. They will have a designated leg day once a week where they bomb the hell out of them, frequently going to failure on a mishmash of exercises - many of which serve only to deplete recuperative power, and rarely in the context of a systematic volume/intensity pattern for a training cycle (single factor supercompensation taken to the extreme). Then look at an olympic lifter or even an off season sprinter/thrower. They tend not to have a lot of assistance work but squat 2-3x per week and end up hitting their legs with a variety of other exercises (cleans, snatches etc...). They don't get sore, have no problem putting on weight (some have to curtail their diet so as not to gain too much and very few worry about their diet much beyond the basics), and have a good record for getting progressively stronger over time (there is a reason why the best coaches in the world don't have people training to failure and instead pay attention to volume and intensity regulation over a period). These athletes and their off season programs tend to be a lot more successful at consistently adding muscle than their bodybuilder counterparts. It boils down to better training (not harder work, just training smarter). It's not "all in the diet" as is frequently quoted. Meeting basic caloric and nutrient requirements for growth is not difficult.
