How Heavy Are Your Weights?

When you do your workouts how much weight are you lifting? Is it as much as you can possibly lift and still maintain form? Or could you have easily done 2 or more reps?

Hopefully you are already lifting as much weight as you can. But, if you aren't you need to start. This does not mean to go to failure. But, it does mean that the weight you are lifting is taxing on your body. While going to failure will over work your muscles and burn out your CNS (central nervous system), leaving one in the tank will insure that you are getting the most out of your workouts. This simply means that after you complete your last rep of each set you should only be able to do one more rep before your form breaks.

Lifting heavy weights is the only way to achieve maximum muscle growth, fat loss, and muscle definition (women this is the muscle "tone" you are looking for). The weight you will use is relative to everyone. What is heavy for one personn is not necessarily heavy for another person and vice versa.

Also, all those nice little articles you read in magazines about how you can "tone" up your arms lifting soup cans are total B.S. The weight of that 12 oz. can will not do anything to help "tone" up your arms. (F.Y.I - I hate the term "tone") The weight is simply not heavy enough to stimulate the required muscle response necessary for any noticeable differences in your muscles. Those articles just make for nice headlines and articles in order to sell magazines. Plus it is what everyone wants to hear. That exercise is easy and not physically demanding. Sorry, the only way to get results is to perform physically demanding exercise.

Now, go add another plate to the bar and start lifting heavy!

Have a Great Day!

Josh