Soreness and Fatigue Question

Okay, first off i'd like to say hi im brand new to the board. I find it a very informative and active source for the body building info I've needed for a while. Anyway, to my questions:

I started working out again in mid January after a big layover of about 2 1/2 , maybe 3 years. After every workout my muscles were DAM sore for a while. Now being past the mid point in March its been about 2 months of training but my body just doesn't get as sore anymore.

My work out schedule is as follows:

Day 1: Back and Biceps

Day 2: Cardio (raquetball, usually its a 30-45 min session)

Day 3: Chest/Tris

Day 4: Cardio

Day 5: Shoulders

Day 6: Cardio (if legs hold up from previous workout)

Day 7: Legs

I have been Doing 3 exercises/sets per body part with the exception of one big compound movement thrown in which I do for 4 sets 1st.

I try to do reps of 12,10,8,6 for the 4 sets
and 10, 8, 6 for the 3 sets.

I try and select enough weight to goto failure on each.

Been resting 3 mins or so between sets.

Is there a reason im not as sore anymore? Im afraid im not working out hard enough, cuz sometimes i go into the gym flat and i have to psych myself up to get through the workout. I AM seeing improvement in strength, and i have to say a lil size too but im afraid im not growing since I dont hurt as much.

As far as diet goes, im trying to eat per/gram of body wt of protein a day, staying away from saturated fats, and eating moderate/ to even high carbs (i feel they make me more energized to get through big workouts) , about 5-6 moderately sized meals throught the day.

Never been on AS, and really dont plan to until im able to find a solid routine that I can stay on consistantly and make natural gains (been hard to stick to one plan because people are all telling me conflicting info, and I just lose faith sometimes).

If anyone can answer my muscle soreness post work out question, and any comments/feedback about my routine it would be appreciated.

Thanks

Its so simple. Change your routine. Your muscles have memory aswell, by doing the same routine over and over, they know what to expect. It can be as simple as not resting as long between sets, different excercises, concentrating on the negatives more, supersets. Try this, and then write a post on how sore you are.

Thanks guys, going to try varying my excercises first. For some reason when I cut down my rest time in between sets I can only get half the reps of what I aim to do to failure.

I'll let you know tommorow how that goes.

thanks again

Remember to always try and increase in either intensity, weight, reps or volume. And yes again change your routine often. Even weekly you could alternate between high joint stress exercises and lower joint stress exercises.

Ouch.. ok, back to sleep.