It was about 4 p.m., and I had just finished my cardio workout. I pushed myself really hard, and I took that momentum to my arm workout. Today, as a stared at the dumbbells, I didn’t pick up the weights I normally do. In fact, I increased weight by three to five pounds on each arm exercise.
According to the American Council on Exercise, once you can do 12 repetitions of an exercise with correct form, you should increase the amount of resistance by five percent to 10 percent.
Honestly, I probably should have done this a week ago. I guess I waited until now because part of me liked being able to complete the exercises with a little bit of ease. But for the past week, I’ve left the gym feeling like I could have done a little more. I knew I had to step it up if I wanted to see results.
I didn’t plan on increasing weight when I went to the gym today. It was a last-minute decision I made when I looked at the sets of weights and knew I could do better. So I stepped out of my comfort zone and grabbed heavier weights.
It wasn’t easy, and I really had to focus and push myself through each exercise. My shoulders, biceps and triceps burned as I neared the end of each set.
But today I left the gym feeling just a little better about myself. Getting sculpted arms, abs and legs isn’t supposed to be easy. If it were, everyone would have a six pack and flab-free arms.
Next time you go to the gym ask yourself if you’re really giving it your all. If not, try adding just a little more resistance to leave feeling even better and more accomplished.