Are you building the perfect body or just lifting weights?

Most people are shocked when I tell them I only workout four days a week and get the results I get. This question always seems to follow, “What’s your secret?”  I’m going to tell you, but first I have a question for you. What do you want to look like? You have this image in your head every time you go to the gym.  This is an image of what you are trying to achieve physically or mentally.  Maybe it’s a flatter stomach, bigger biceps or more defined legs.  Whatever you are trying to accomplish, you have that picture in your head.  So do you train for the body you want?

 I see most people who go to the gym have the wrong mindset.  They think getting the weight up is the important part.  They do the rep for the purpose of completing the rep and not the purpose of building the muscle. They then feel good because there is an instant sense of accomplishment.  They can feel good about putting up 315 on the bench or squatting 350 pounds. It is a measurable accomplishment.  Most people who focus on this have less than desirable results because they are solely focused on just getting the weight up. The result is not the important part.  The important part is the mechanics and how much you get from each rep. If you are lifting to tone and sculpt your body, getting the weight up is not the benefit, how you get the weight up is however.  

As with everything in life, the path of least resistance is usually the road most traveled.  By nature, we do not like to feel pain or discomfort so we will try and find an easier way to accomplish something or handle a situation.  We will do whatever we can to avoid pain. Despite this, we all know when we push through the pain is when we break out if our comfort zone and accomplish great things. This is the same in life and in weight training.     

So how do we break out of that comfort zone in the gym? Focus on the muscle you are trying to build, tighten your core, slow down the rep count, engage the muscle, make sure the negative is slow and controlled and squeeze it all the way through the positive movement. In your mind picture the weight is twice as heavy as it really is.  Don’t look for a mechanical advantage to get the weight up. The more you make the muscle work the more it is going to grow.  Your muscles will never know what weight it is using.  All it knows is there is a force applied against it and the more it has to work the more it has to grow.  Less weight with better quality reps will always be more effective than poor quality reps with more weight.  This also reduces your chances of sustaining an injury by doing the activity right.

Here are two scenarios for you: First, you put a ton of weight on the barbell and get ready to do one rep of a basic flat bench press.  You lift the bar off, quickly drop it down to the lower portion of your chest and quickly thrust it back to the top.  As you are going up you feel a lot of strain in your front deltoids, which is the front part of your shoulder.  Does this rep sound familiar?  If so try this: Start by dropping down to a lower weight.  Before you even think about lifting the weight start contracting your muscles. Contract your calves, up your legs to your quads, glutes, and abs.  Now reach up and grab the bar.  Slowly lower the bar while contracting your arms, lats, and chest. Lower the bar to the upper portion of your chest. In a slow and controlled manner, raise the bar while keeping everything contracted. When you get to the top of the motion, squeeze your chest.  Here is a tip: If there is a point in your motion where you start to feel the muscle shaking, that is a weak point.  Do not be so quick to push through that shaky feeling.  Slowly enjoy the discomfort, knowing you are making the muscle stronger by spending time in that week zone.     

Maximize your efforts at the gym and you will maximize your life. Each time you maximize a rep at the gym you will understand how each rep is like each moment in your life. It may not be easy at the time and it maybe a struggle but if you want best results you have to do the activities right. Regardless of how tough or how easy something is, quality will always prevail.  

Article by - Chris G. 

“You are only confined by the walls you build yourself” –Andrew Murphy 

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