Maximize Your Workouts

[DEEPER KEMICAL]

Here are seven ways to tell if your building muscles or just wasting your time.

1. You feel the exercises where your supposed to.

You should notice the stress in the belly of the muscle not in the joints. Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about.

Bench press - should feel it in your chest, triceps NOT your shoulder joint.
Lateral raise - should feel it in your shoulders, upper back NOT elbows or wrist.
Abdominal crunch - should feel it in your midsection NOT lower back or neck.
Leg curls - feel it in your hamstrings NOT your lower back or gluteals.
Leg Extention - feel it in your quadriceps NOT your knees.
Biceps - feel it in your upper arm NOT your elbows or wrist.
Lat pulldown - feel it in your upper back NOT your shoulder or arms.
Row - feel it in your upper back NOT lower back or arms.
Squat or Deadlift - feel it in your thighs, glutes NOT your knees or lower back.
Tricep extentions - feel it in your upper arms NOT your elbows.


2. Your Pumped

After a couple of sets the muscles your working should feel full and hard, this is the pump. The pump also serves an important physilogical purpuse, the movements that trap blood in your muscles also generate lactic acid. Lactic acid helps produce growth hormaone, and is thought to help your muscles grow bigger and your fat cells shrink, since it mobilizes fat for energy.


3. You Don't Feel Hungry

The last thing you want is for hunger to kick in before your workout is over. That's a sign your bllod-glucose levels are dropping, muscle glycogen is being used at a really rapid rate and your about to use muscle protein for energy. When you use muscle protein for energy you make your muscles smaller instead of bigger.


4. Your Nearly As Strong from One Set to the Next

This tells you three good things. You're using the right weight, you're resting enough between sets, and your body is properly fueled.
If your strength drops rapidly then you may have not warmed up properly, using to much weight, and/or youa rushed through your sets.


5. Your Body Feels Worked BUT Not Trashed

Your muscles let you when you have hit it just right. Muscle spasms can occur in fatigued muscle groups. For example, if your arm shakes alittle when you comb your hair after an upper-body workout, that's a sign you really challenged the muscle without over doing it.


6. You Feel As If You Were On Prozac

For the first couple of hours after a great workout, nothing should bother you. You should experience an elevation in mood and a decrease in anxiety. You should also feel more menatl energy after a workout.


7. You Can't Wait To Return

If you see tha you've improved in this workout, that creates a mindset that next workout will be even better. Record what you lifted and the number of reps. This helps keep you more excited for your next workout, which can lay the groundwork for another perfect workout.

[WonderBread]

Most of the time numbers 2,3,5,6, and 7 happen to me. I guess that I am working hard enough most of the time. We all have those bad workouts that you felt like you haven't worked out hard enough.