How come after weightraining sometimes your muscles seem smaller and softer then before you started?

Answer:
They are exhausted. They need rest (1-2 days) and then they will feel bigger and harder.

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When you lift weights, you are actually causing tiny tears in your muscles. Once your muscles recover, they come back bigger and stronger but that can take a day or so. Your muscles basically have to be broken down before they can be built back up.
This is why it is important to alternate muscle groups to give them time to recover properly.

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Honestly, this isn't a problem I've personally encountered. However, a number of things occur when you work out. If you are doing heavy/serious weight training, to the point where your muscles are very tired, you're essentially tearing the muscle tissue. When the muscle tissue grows back, it grows back stronger in an effort to protect itself by adjusting to the demands you're putting on it. When you tear that tissue, it swells with blood and fluid. Typically, there is an increase in muscle size, but it will feel a little softer than your normal muscle.If you are a bit overweight, and have enough fat around the arm, you may not be able to see the swelling of the muscle after your work out, and since the muscle tissue is swollen and a bit softer, it may feel like your muscle is smaller when you squeeze your arm.Also, if you are just beginning to work out, and are overweight, it is not infrequent to have fatty infiltrations in the muscle. As you work out over time, that fat will disappear and leave lean, uninfiltrated muscle tissue--but it may be smaller than before since it doesn't have all that fat. That is a necessary step in making progress in both weight training and losing weight (depending on what your goals may be), so don't worry about that.Finally, there may also simply be an issue of fatigue. Your muscle may be too tired to tighten the same way it did before you worked out!Don't let it disturb you, whichever is the cause. Keep working out, and you WILL see benefits if you're doing it right. If you can, I'd recommend seeing a trainer for a session to make sure your form is good (VERY VERY important), and that you have a good mix of exercises. You shouldn't need to see a trainer very often--maybe once every couple of months if you aren't already familiar with exercising. That way they can change out your program as needed, to help you achieve you goals.(Make sure to find a good one--there are a lot of hacks out there. Word of mouth isn't always dependable. I'd look for some degrees and accredations, and perhaps go with the head trainer at your gym--they usually have the experience and the background if they are in charge of the others!)Good luck.

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