Hello there.
Recently, I started working out (after a period of not lifting for a few years). My question is this; how should you feel the day after you work out? Growing up, I was taught that if you worked out correctly, the next day you should feel a tad stiff and sore. Is this necessarily true?
Yesterday I increased the number of sets for all of my exercises, but today I'm not experiencing the normal soreness I experienced with lighter exercises. Could this mean I'm not doing enough?

soreness is not a proper indicator of progress. If you lifted more weight than you did last week and you completed your rep and set goals then you not only got stronger but set a PR as well.

tl;dr you had a good workout.

Dunno if this means owt... but I react very erratically. Sometimes the day after I'll be sore as hell, or maybe 2 days after, or sometimes not at all. My triceps were sore for 4 days after my latest workout.

Movements with large eccentric components cause more muscle damage and thus more DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness). For instance, if you were doing a bench press, and you lowered it really slowly with a heavy weight, then had a spotter lift it off you each rep, before lowering it yourself again slowly, you would feel much more soreness than if you just did regular bench presses, you would also gain more strength more quickly. Supra-maximal training is something for more advanced lifters though, not something to do if your just getting back into it.

As mentioned, soreness can be due to unfamiliar exercises, or poor recovery (lack of sleep, food, protein, water, foam rolling etc), hence why it isn't really a good gauge. However, if you never felt sore after a workout, you might not be pushing it hard enough. Right now, you're just getting back into it, so take it easy and slowly build up the volume and intensity.

I should feel like I accomplished something.

And usually exhausted.

quote EvilZero

I feel GREAT after a workout.

My endorphines are pumping, and after I get home and relax, I feel like I've just busted one.

This pretty much

I think the original question was referring to next day soreness, not immediately afterwards. I normally feel great afterwards, or sometimes if I absolutely destroy myself I can feel a lot of stiffness immediately afterwards. If I foam roll, eat well and get a good sleep, I normally don't have too much tightness the next day, unless I did some new exercises.

In that case..When Ever I try a new work out I feel sore the next day So I would wait a few days and do it again and repeat til lI dont feel sore the next day

Other then that I dont feel sore all the time

I was at a gym a long time ago and used one of the equipment for biceps (the one with pads that the biceps touch and comes up in front of you as you push horizontally)

The next day one of my biceps was so sore. I used some kind of muscle cream to cool it off and relieve it ... which worked

Don't remember the name of it but you should be able to find things like that at Wal-Mart or a pharmacy

Hi,

I feel awesome after work out, it was great joy after work out.

They feel weak and fatiqued, and when I look in the mirror theyre really pumped up for an hour, and sometimes the next day i have soreness.