Am I Working Hard Enough?
I am attempting to build muscle for overall body tone and strength, and to aid weigt loss. I am not looking to compete or get involved in an endurance sport. I read on this forum somewhere that muscle soreness was a good thing because it was your body repairing tiny micro-tears in the muscle which builds it up.
I work out lifting weights 3x a week at the gym. I usually lift for an hour, attempting to add more weight or extra sets every time. (I am not always able to) I work myself to the point of total exhaustion before I stop. However, the next day I am a *little* sore, but not significantly so. Does that mean I am not working hard enough? |
No, in my experience, muscle soreness isn't a good guide to how hard you're working. :) From your description, I think you're doing it exactly the right way! You'll better be able to judge your success with a tape measure and scale and a pair of pants. :D Keep up the good work!
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I would agree with meg that you are probably performing good healthy weight sessions with proper form etc... Yes have you taken measurements? I would love to hear your results in a few months!! Keep it up!!
Michelle |
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Not to worry Holly -- I might be the one who's wrong here! ;) You're right about the microscopic tears in the muscle -- that's how we strengthen the muscles, by breaking them down and rebuilding them. That's why you might hear that muscle growth actually takes place during rest and recovery, not during a workout, and that's why it's so important to get a good night's sleep.
In my experience, soreness sometimes but not always correlates with how hard I've worked out. Certain muscle groups get sorer than others -- my legs always get sore but my back seldom does. I get more sore if I try a new exercise than one my body's used to. A better gauge of how hard you're working out is:are you reaching failure when you lift (can't do another rep)? Since Lumpy said that she lifts to total exhaustion, I was reading that as reaching failure so thought she was working out hard enough. :) I found this article about muscle soreness at about.com (http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/i...s/a/doms_p.htm): Quote:
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