Are you lifting, but not seeing results?
When it comes to lifting, there are three things to keep in mind:
Form Comes First
Mind Muscle Connection
Lift Heavy!
I have taught over 500 fitness classes, and some phrases I hear often are: Am I doing this right? I don’t feel this movement? Why am I not seeing results from lifting?
While there are so many factors that go into these types of questions, the three I want you to focus on are the three listed above.
Form Comes First
Form should always be your top priority. If you are doing a movement that doesn’t feel right, check your form and make sure you are doing each movement correctly. This helps you feel the movement in the right muscles, but also protects against injury. One exercise that a lot of people do incorrect form on is the Romanian Deadlift. This exercise with correct form should be working your hamstrings and your glutes. If done with incorrect form you are more likely to hurt your lower back while doing the movement. This doesn’t mean you should avoid the movement all together, but go lighter and focus on the form before grabbing the heavier weights.
Mind Muscle Connection
After your form check, you need to focus on your mind muscle connection. This may be confusing for those who are new to the gym. What does that mean?? Well, when you are doing a movement remind yourself what part of the body the movement should be working. If you are doing a single arm bent over row, remind yourself that you are working your back and that’s where you should feel the movement. Activate your back through the pull, and take the movement slow.
For me, I notice an increase mind muscle connection for the glute bridge and hamstring curl. This movement is working glutes and hamstrings. When going up into my glute bridge, I activate my glutes by squeezing them together as well as engaging my core, and then when performing the hamstring curl, I slowly pull the foam roller back in by forcing my hamstrings to do the pull. After the reps, my glutes and hamstrings are crying for a break!
This might be challenging at first, but it’s really something to focus on and practice each lift until you are feeling the mind muscle connection. You don’t need to do your reps quickly, slow and controlled will help you see differences in your lifts.
Lift Heavy!
If the first two are done correctly, the last step is to LIFT HEAVY. Your body is far more capable than you think. You have to push yourself to failure on your lifts to see any type of results. If you go up in weight, but notice your form is failing, go back to the lighter weight and add more reps until you are ready for the heavier weight. Remember, form first, mind muscle connection second, and lift heavy last.