For those of you who train with me know I ask this questions A LOT.

Sometimes I get a look from them like I asked them what the origin of the Semitendinosus muscle is.

It makes me laugh (on the inside) sometimes, but I get it. It's a weird question to ask. You just got done getting tortured by 185 lbs sitting on your lap and then thrusting it for 12 reps and now your butt feels like a mixture of fire and jelly.
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"How in the hell do you think it feels, Mike?!"

I assure you I ask for good reason(s).

I see and observe with great detail and play games in my own head with the objective of making me a better coach by being able to predict what is happening without actually going through it myself. I try to determine what you're feeling based on what I see and then determine where we go next with your next set, which cues I should use next, to determine if we need to go into greater detail with the understanding of why we're doing that particular exercise/lift, and sometimes to reassure you that everything is going to be okay and what you're feeling/experiencing is normal....or on the flipside, let you know that what you're experiencing isn't normal.

It's the gateway question that leads to more questions from me so that

1) I can get a gauge on how difficult it was

2) I can know which muscles you were feeling

3) I can know if we're at the appropriate weight for the given exercise/lift

4) I can know what is running through your head as you go through the exercise/lift

5) I can know how to coach you

Overall, this helps me help you the best I can. Next time you hear me ask "how did that feel?" you can know that I'm not just trying to make small talk 🙂