My mistake with "Heavy Lifting"...

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rainbowbow
rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Surely I can't be the only one to have made this mistake.... I hope...

Okay, so... With all the talk of "lifting heavy" and women need to lift heavy, etc. I figured I would post my experience.

I have been on MFP for almost three years, I have lost around 35lbs and gone from about 32%bf to 19%bf. I started "lifting heavy" around two years ago. I started with (don't laugh) 30 day shred, then New Rules of lifting, then starting strength. I have lifted "heavy" consistently, meaning 3-4 days a week every week.

While I have made some great results I've been extremely disappointed at the fact that I am still not looking how I want to look. My lifts have gone up, I am pushing significantly more weight, but I didn't really get "sore" for more than 12 hours.

I would lift and at the TIME I would feel sore. I would take my 1.5 minute rest in between sets, and I thought my training sessions were "intense"... But again... I wouldn't get sore. I wasn't seeing any change in aesthetics.

In the past few months I decided "okay, how about I hire a personal trainer... I just want to make sure my form is correct". For a long time I looked down on them as most are generally uneducated. I would think "there's nothing they can teach me... I'm probably more knowledgeable than they are". But alas, here I am... Still with no six pack, still not the fantastic physique I want... Clearly they must be doing SOMETHING different, right?

Fast forward three months and HERE'S what I've learned. Was my form wrong? No. Was the intensity at which I was working out wrong? No.

My mistake in "lifting heavy" is far more simple.... I was focusing on pushing/pulling the weight. That's right... I was so focused on performing the exercise with good form and pushing the actual weight that I had almost completely forgone the fact that you should be concentrating on using that muscle.

Now... Did I see pretty good results? I was performing the exercise with "good form" so I must have at least been doing something, right?

Let me tell you, I am now consistently putting tension on said muscle/group when lifting... My "heavy lifting" has gone down about 10% on every single lift... But I have seen FANTASTIC results. I have experienced DOMS, I feel much stronger, everything feels more controlled, and I am looking significantly better.

I can't even believe it took me hiring someone to point out the fact that I should be concentrating on actually using the muscle/group...

Has anyone else experienced this? I thought I knew it all... And... Clearly I was wrong.
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Replies

  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    Bump! :)
  • miss_jessiejane
    miss_jessiejane Posts: 2,820 Member
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    Bump.
  • LiftHeavyWeights
    LiftHeavyWeights Posts: 336 Member
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    Thanks for posting. It's good to be reminded of all the aspects of lifting.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    Yup.

    I was on vacation working out with a friend who is a body builder and he said that it's NOT the amount of weight you can toss around rather going in a slow and controlled manner and focusing on the muscles that you're working.

    When I find myself "throwing weight around" I yell at myself in my head and tell myself to go slow and controlled. Sure I might have to lift a few pounds less but I feel it and the next day I know I worked it.

    Hopefully other people will read your post and get what you're trying to say.
  • soldier4242
    soldier4242 Posts: 1,368 Member
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    If you are using good form then you are focusing on the correct muscles for any given exercise so I am not really understanding what you mean.
  • MySweetPotato
    MySweetPotato Posts: 175 Member
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    Absolutely. I used to perform the excercises to finish with the reps and go sot down, but once I started really getting into it, concentrated on the muscles, performed the reps in good form and really controlled the weights, I realized what lifting is really all about:
    I can acheive anything I set my mind to. It's me against my body. There is no limit. It's addictive. I am in love with it!
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    If you are using good form then you are focusing on the correct muscles for any given exercise so I am not really understanding what you mean.

    She's referring to the mind - muscle connection that goes along with lifting. If you really focus your mind on the contraction and stress of your muscles you will see great results. Having good form is not the same thing.
  • Jason3589
    Jason3589 Posts: 734
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    The workout l follow states 1 second to lift the weight and 3 seconds to lower. Not sure if this link will work but here goes http://www.jefit.com/my-jefit/my-workout-routine/
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    If you are using good form then you are focusing on the correct muscles for any given exercise so I am not really understanding what you mean.

    You misunderstood my point and are perpetuating the same misunderstanding I had. I am performing the exercise with proper technique and using the correct muscle group when lifting.

    This is not the same as lifting with concentration on actively squeezing, exhausting, and using that muscle to the fullest potential. Not moving the weight and performing that exercise.

    My point being if I am performing an exercise with "proper technique" meaning the range of movement, foot placement, straight back, and what have you may have been correct; but I was so focused on performing that exercise I was not concentrating on using the muscle to its full potential.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    If you are using good form then you are focusing on the correct muscles for any given exercise so I am not really understanding what you mean.

    She's referring to the mind - muscle connection that goes along with lifting. If you really focus your mind on the contraction and stress of your muscles you will see great results. Having good form is not the same thing.

    Exactly!!! :flowerforyou:
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
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    If you are using good form then you are focusing on the correct muscles for any given exercise so I am not really understanding what you mean.

    She's referring to the mind - muscle connection that goes along with lifting. If you really focus your mind on the contraction and stress of your muscles you will see great results. Having good form is not the same thing.

    I'm not sure I understand the difference physiologically. This sounds like mystical stuff to me.
  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
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    I don't think you have a clue what you are talking about. a 80% 1repmax lift with full rom is an 80% 1repmax lift will full rom. Getting your mind more into it is pointless. the muscles see work done. thats it. they don't know or care if you're focusing your mind on it more or not.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    So by that logic, couldn't you just concentrate on your muscles and get them to grow?
  • soldier4242
    soldier4242 Posts: 1,368 Member
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    If you are using good form then you are focusing on the correct muscles for any given exercise so I am not really understanding what you mean.

    You misunderstood my point and are perpetuating the same misunderstanding I had. I am performing the exercise with proper technique and using the correct muscle group when lifting.

    This is not the same as lifting with concentration on actively squeezing, exhausting, and using that muscle to the fullest potential. Not moving the weight and performing that exercise.

    My point being if I am performing an exercise with "proper technique" meaning the range of movement, foot placement, straight back, and what have you may have been correct; but I was so focused on performing that exercise I was not concentrating on using the muscle to its full potential.

    Before I agree to the accusation that I am perpetuating any sort of misunderstanding I need to understand how thinking about your muscle contracting will make it do more work then simply lifting the weight with proper form.

    I think it is possible that you misunderstand how lifting actually works. When you lift a heavy weight it is effectively resisting your effort put in to picking it up. Two hundred pounds of weight is two hundred pounds of resistance and you have to be able to exert enough effort in your push or pull to overcome that resistance. This effort will cause micro-tears in your muscles which will be healed by your body naturally. If you have good diet and rest the idea is for the muscle to be rebuilt stronger than it was before.

    All of this will happen as long as you are consistent with your workouts and your form is up to par. I could think about palm trees the entire time I lift weights and at the end of the day I will still benefit from my workout in the exact same way as if I though about my muscle the entire time. In fact I do try to distract myself sometimes so that I can get out extra reps.
  • DekkaTwoOneWizzy
    DekkaTwoOneWizzy Posts: 62
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    So you were a weight lifter and NOT a physique artist...glad you got out of that rut after 3 years.
  • RECowgill
    RECowgill Posts: 881 Member
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    This is what pro body builders like Kai Greene point out to trainees. Focus on contracting the muscle you are working, don't try and move the weight. When you are just trying to move the weight, you end up using lots of other muscles, not just the ones you are trying to develop. If you focus on contracting and flexing the target muscle, the weight will move as a result.

    He lifts relatively light for his size and power as a result. As do most pro lifters, because its not about moving really heavy weight. They know if you want aesthetics it's about targeted contraction. This work is harder to do, it is a much more exhausting way to lift. I learned this some months after I started lifting and found lighter targeted contractions harder to do than the simpler concept of just going as heavy as possible within the confines of good form.

    It's harder to do in a gym setting cause you do have to check your ego at the door. But if you want that cut, shaped aesthetic look this is what you must do.

    The fact that it can be more exhausting is probably key. Growth, shaping and aesthetics occur only after muscles are sufficiently exhausted, damaged. Should probably change the common wisdom of lifting heavy to "lift heavy enough for targeted muscle contraction" which will mean you actually lift under your capability, but if you do it right you will be grinding that muscle down. Except when you shouldn't, which sometimes is true. :wink:
  • alliebeth88
    alliebeth88 Posts: 59 Member
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    I get what you mean. I could squat probably 15 more lbs than I do now if I just busted out my reps. But instead I focus on making sure my core is engaged, I am inhaling/exhaling at the correct times, and really engaging my glutes (hip drive) on the way up. Definitely more challenging, but it feels great! Same with deadlifts and really squeezing those shoulders back and thrusting those hips at the bar.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    So by that logic, couldn't you just concentrate on your muscles and get them to grow?

    Cool story. I'll give you a little gold star for that one. ;)
  • sarwatf
    sarwatf Posts: 60 Member
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    I am most definitely no expert on the topic , but I guess if you "concentrate" on the muscle movement and each "part" of the movement -- it almost certainly makes you do the rep slower --- which certainly is a lot harder than using momentum ( even perfect form momentum)?
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    I am most definitely no expert on the topic , but I guess if you "concentrate" on the muscle movement and each "part" of the movement -- it almost certainly makes you do the rep slower --- which certainly is a lot harder than using momentum ( even perfect form momentum)?

    Not only using momentum but this "lets just push through these reps" kind of attitude.

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