Hi doctors,
I have been training for about 3 years and used your Beginner program, Powerbuilding 1, Powerbuilding 2 and Powerlifting 2 programs. I have a few injuries in my upper body and have been running Powerbuilding 1 for 5 months, as the 3 lifting days instead of 4 feel more appropriate while I rehab.
Since I have been running it for a while, I’ve experimented with swapping 1 or 2 exercises every few months to see how I would respond. About 3 months ago I decided to substitute the 2ct pause squat on day 2 with Bulgarian split squat. I expected soreness upon introduction as it’s quite different from anything I had done. However, the soreness always lasts 2 to 3 days after the workout. To try and reduce the soreness, I’ve done 2 sets instead of 3 and even went as low as RPE 5 (it was likely even lower than this but I don’t think I can accurately estimate the exertion if I have more than 5 reps in the tank). Nevertheless, the soreness persists. I don’t mind it per se, I enjoy the unilateral and balance skill of the movement, and am happy with my results (started off with 15lb dumbbells, now use 65lbs). If 65lbs at 10 reps is RPE 8, 50lbs for 10 reps are sub RPE 5 for me.
I would like to know whether I should ignore the consistent soreness from the split squats, I don’t experience this kind of soreness from any other exercise. I deadlift on day 3 as prescribed and don’t yet know if it’s compromised from the soreness (I’ve also been rehabbing my lower back from a deadlift injury, I’m fairly close to the weight I used pre-injury). If there’s any adjustment you recommend, I’d be happy to try it out too. Thanks for your time!
Tyronitar,
Good question. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is to be expected after a novel exercise with a relatively long eccentric ROM. While I don’t think a few points of RPE difference or single set reduction are going to make a difference, I think they were reasonable choices to make all the same.
I wouldn’t worry about the soreness or avoid it. Rather, I’d recommend doing the volume and RPE prescribed. I think that you need more exposure to this style of movement to adapt to it. It should happen over time 
-Jordan
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Hi Dr. Feigenbaum,
Thanks for the quick reply! I’m glad to hear I can disregard the soreness for the most part. I remember during a Q&A with yourself and Dr. Baraki, you guys talked about reducing volume and/or RPE in response to prolonged soreness or feeling beat up, so I wanted to be sure. I have 2 more questions:
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Does research show any relation to soreness and injury? I’m not trying to nocibo myself. Much of my training history has been delayed due to various injuries. Similar to yourself, Dr. Baraki and I imagine most of us in this community, we sometimes ignore or minimize signs when our body more or less is asking us to take it easier. I like to think I’ve gotten better at not overshooting my RPEs, but there may be other symptoms which could cascade into another injury which I’m not cognizant of. I understand everyone’s response and adaptations are extremely diverse, but is there some arbitrary amount of time where you think I should have adjusted to the split squats by (indicated by less/no soreness) or should back off them for some time? Please let me know if you have any research (on soreness and injuries), or any anecdotal evidence you could share!
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I’d like to know if I could trade movements from certain days, and switch the order of the days (while keeping the sets, reps and RPE). For example currently I have my primary squat on day 1, secondary squat on day 2 (Bulgarian split squats) and deadlift on day 3. I wanted to know if I could do: day 3, day 2 and day 1. My thinking is I find deadlifts trickier than other lifts, and I’d like to prioritize it by starting the week off with them. The Bulgarian squats on day 2 would keep things easy on my lower back, and I wouldn’t think the soreness would impact my primary squats on day 3. Also I’d like to trade the Pendlay rows from day 3 to day 2, and the press from day 2 to 3. Thank you again for your time! 
-Tyronitar
Yea, prolonged soreness would be lasting > 3-4 days and be severe (affecting performance and participation). I think this is run of the mill DOMS based on your description.
I don’t think the soreness you describe has a strong connection to injury risk, but yes being persistently sore could indicate too high of a training load in other contexts. If forced to speculate, I’d guess the high rep count, long ROM, novelty of unilateral movement, and so on make this movement a bit more DOMS-inducing for you at this point.
You can change your schedule if you want. Seems fine to me.
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I’ll go back to the prescribed RPE 8 and see how a few months of it effect me, appreciate it!