Eight months ago I began a journey of practicing mindfulness every day and we've reached day 243. Yesterday, I talked about finding something to be passionate about in your life. Today is a new day.
When going to the gym, I sometimes get caught up in how many reps I do and on days where I'm not in peak condition I end up cheating and not doing the full rep just to satisfy that goal. However, it's not the amount of reps you do, it's the quality of the reps you do that make them really count. A person doing 100 incomplete reps doesn't stimulate the muscles in the same way that doing 20 really good and controlled reps does. With the full rep, you not only condition your body to move efficiently, but you're also activating as many of the muscle groups (or completely isolating your target muscle) as possible in order to maximize your gains.
Working out is essentially putting strain on the muscles and breaking them down. You do that by lifting heavy things (weight training) or moving/manipulating your body in the world we inhabit (calisthenics and cardio). When you put the right amount of strain on the body it tells them that they need to get used to doing this and get stronger so that next time it won't be so difficult to do. I'll often catch myself guilty of this and when I do I always remind myself that making each rep count is what really matters, so I'll slow down, focus on my movements, and keep going until I'm burned out. Reps are a good way to stay consistent, but as we get stronger we're able to do more, so going until you can't ensures that you're pushing yourself every time and building a proper foundation for muscular growth.
It's hard to maintain doing that on a consistent basis, but it's something I want to work toward. I came back from the gym sore, but not dead, so unless I want to really make gains, I still have room to push myself further. By being aware of my workouts and how I can improve them is how I can start developing that habit.With each habit I make involving doing more quality workouts the more I'll see myself grow and reach my fitness goals. This applies to everything we're trying to improve on in life
Quality is always better than quantity. Make what you do count.
Peace
"Quality is not an act, it is a habit." - AristotleI went to the gym today as usual and I saw some dude doing some lat pull-downs in a very strange way. Instead of keeping his upper body straight, he ended up leaning far back while pulling the bar (but not pulling his arms in) with him. I was tempted to ask him why he was doing it, but maybe he wasn't trying to target his lats and was going for a completely different exercise. With that in mind, I was still skeptical and it reminded me of the importance of good form in your exercises.
When going to the gym, I sometimes get caught up in how many reps I do and on days where I'm not in peak condition I end up cheating and not doing the full rep just to satisfy that goal. However, it's not the amount of reps you do, it's the quality of the reps you do that make them really count. A person doing 100 incomplete reps doesn't stimulate the muscles in the same way that doing 20 really good and controlled reps does. With the full rep, you not only condition your body to move efficiently, but you're also activating as many of the muscle groups (or completely isolating your target muscle) as possible in order to maximize your gains.
Working out is essentially putting strain on the muscles and breaking them down. You do that by lifting heavy things (weight training) or moving/manipulating your body in the world we inhabit (calisthenics and cardio). When you put the right amount of strain on the body it tells them that they need to get used to doing this and get stronger so that next time it won't be so difficult to do. I'll often catch myself guilty of this and when I do I always remind myself that making each rep count is what really matters, so I'll slow down, focus on my movements, and keep going until I'm burned out. Reps are a good way to stay consistent, but as we get stronger we're able to do more, so going until you can't ensures that you're pushing yourself every time and building a proper foundation for muscular growth.
It's hard to maintain doing that on a consistent basis, but it's something I want to work toward. I came back from the gym sore, but not dead, so unless I want to really make gains, I still have room to push myself further. By being aware of my workouts and how I can improve them is how I can start developing that habit.With each habit I make involving doing more quality workouts the more I'll see myself grow and reach my fitness goals. This applies to everything we're trying to improve on in life
Quality is always better than quantity. Make what you do count.
Peace
 |
| Don't cheat. If you do it well, you do it right. |
What are some things you can improve on by building that proper foundation?
ReplyDelete