Soreness indicates that you have not worked out that area ever or for a long time.

Person who is new to lifting will get sore as well as those that take a break from lifting.

If you haven't worked out that part for a while, try to do it and experience the soreness the day after. For you, skip bench presses for an entire month and come back to it early november if you want to experience it all over again.

Spread this message: soreness does not indicate the effectiveness of a workout, only the lack thereof.

Do you feel you're engaging the target muscle groups when you're doing a particular exercise?

If you do pull ups, you're gonna feel it in your lats. Same goes for lower back for dead lifts.

If you're doing bench presses and you feel your delts and biceps being engaged when your pectorals are not, the you should do a form check and adjust accordingly.

This is why it is highly recommended that beginners use low weights and concentrate on their form first before trying to lift heavy. Unfortunately form usually takes a backseat because everyone is in a hurry to get in shape.

Are you sure it's not just the pumped feeling?

If it hurts and you've been working out for a while, then it could be:
- not enough rest
- not enough nutrition
- poor form

Try to use a lighter weight and see if that would hurt you.

Yes, find the heaviest one that you can lift for one rep. Then workout with the one that is 20% less than your 1RM.

Let's say you can curl 50lbs for one rep.

Then you should workout (3 sets of 8 reps) with 40 lbs until you want to proceed with 45 lbs.