Challenge yourself. Part One
Challenge yourself.
Part One
I not only say those words to people but I also write it a lot when I leave comments on Bodybuilding.com members’ bodyspaces, and it just dawned on me recently that I am failing to explain what I mean when I say challenge yourself.
To some folks here it may be self-explanatory and to others it may be totally foreign to their normal way of working out and so in the best interests of all concerned I hope to clear up any confusion.
Challenging yourself means trying to best you previous numbers either in pounds lifted or in reps. Don’t be content with doing for example 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps with 10 pounds over and over again day after day. Try to do 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps with 12 or 15 pounds. Always be aiming to better your previous personal best. That is the way you not only challenge yourself but achieve great results.
I would like to start with an observation. If you are one of the many people especially women (don’t worry I will get to the men later) who are still using those little pink 2 lb dumbbells after more than 4 weeks of working out then you are NOT challenging yourself (those with medical or disability issues exempted). I have and continue to see on a day-to-day basis ladies effortlessly using lightweight dumbbells and wondering why they are not seeing any results. I recently read a piece in one of the women’s health magazines that stated if you can do 3 sets of 12 repetitions with the same weight then you need to increase the weight you are using and I agree with that 100%.
If you are one of what I have found to be many women out there who are living under the misconception that lifting weights, even lifting very heavy weights will make you into a muscle monster then you need to understand that something like that will not happen and quit using that as an excuse. If you see a woman with man like muscles then chances are this particular lady is ingesting or injecting man like hormones so that she can achieve that particular look – it does not come naturally. With that out of the way cast your eyes on most fitness models and when you see their wonderful shape and definition realise that it came from lifting weights, decently heavy weights for a fairly long period of time and they are not behemoths by any means but rather very attractively built whose images many of you wish to duplicate. Even if you see then lifting 5 lb dumbbells in whatever magazine article you are reading they didn’t get that great shape by using just light weights.
To achieve your goals there is a good chance that you will need to lift weights and lifting progressively heavier weights will help you get there faster.
