High Intensity - The Key To Results

There comes a time for most of us who are adamant about striving to reach new fitness goals, when all of the sudden our fat loss, muscle gain, or strength gain results seem to just crawl along or even come to a sudden dead-end altogether for no particular reason at all. No matter what you do, and even doing what you've always done, it just does not seem to do the trick anymore. So what gives?

In many cases, one should be able to look at their current diet and find the answer for lacking results, whether it be taking in too many calories per day to successfully obtain fat loss, or not taking in enough at the right times to realize strength and/or muscle gains. Usually diet is the culprit and once sorted out through plenty of trial and error and record keeping, one can begin experiencing success.

However, there are times when even if your diet is spot on for your desired goals, you haven't missed any workouts, and everything else seems to be in place, you are still left frustrated, scratching your head in wonderment as to why you have not attained the type of gains you'd expect from all of your efforts. In cases like these, intensity (or lack thereof) is the missing link to making your body respond and get the lean muscle gains rolling again.

There are many times when we as bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts get so used to doing the same routine, the same number of reps and sets (volume), that we simply find ourselves going through the motions and doing what we've always done without even realizing it. As a result we unknowingly forget about what is really needed to make our muscles respond for continuous gains and progress. So what's the answer?

INTENSITY! To assure this will never happen to you, do yourself a favor and keep your hard efforts paying off by tracking your intensity levels and making an effort to always raise the bar for each and every workout. Whether it be adding one or two more reps for each set, or upping the weight by a small increment once you've reached the high-end of your targeted rep range, by striving to do a bit more from one workout to the next, you will guarantee new stimulus to be placed upon your intended muscle group.

Switching out a current exercise or two for a couple of new ones every four weeks or so is another excellent way to raise your intensity level higher. Your body is then forced to adapt to a slightly different stimulus and you'll be hitting your muscles from a different angle. As always, it's best to keep your exercise selection geared towards multi-joint compound exercises which use more than one muscle group to execute the movement and recruit a greater amount of muscle fibers, rather than relying too much on isolation exercises. Multi-joint movements, such as squats, dead lifts, over head presses, pull-ups, etc., are more difficult to do, and therefore require more initial intensity. These are the type of movements you want to build your workout routines with.

Aside from making compound exercises the core of your workout arsenal, one needs to also ensure that their mind is where it should be - ON YOUR WORKOUT at hand! Perhaps the biggest intensity booster in existence is the one located within the space above your ears. However, at the same time, your mind can be the hindrance to your workout intensity as well.

Think back and try to recall how many times you have found yourself looking around the gym at other people for whatever reason while completing your reps during some of your sets. I am sure it has happened to everyone more than once, and I am sure there have been plenty of times where you've done it sub-consciously without even knowing it. You know what I'm talking about.. you're all of the sudden blind-sided by that hot chic in short shorts and tight top who has the body of a Monica Brant and is working it harder than most people in the gym. Or, if you're a girl, you've taken a few double-looks at some of the buffed out eye-candy that adorns your testosterone-filled gym. Or, maybe it's the (supposedly) hardcore guy grunting and groaning loudly in exaggeration while he performs his lifts that makes you stop, look over and shake your head. Whatever the reason may be, all of those little things have one thing in common.. they are distractions that rob you of tapping into our highest intensity level for your workouts.

Your mind is the number one tool for high intensity output, and when your mind is on other things besides squeezing, controlling, and lifting the weight for each rep in the most optimal manner, you're not going to produce groundbreaking workouts, but rather sub-par ones. If your mind set is focused, motivated and free from outside distractions, then your mind-to-muscle connection is going to be far greater. A strong mind-to-muscle connection is necessary for applying hardcore intensity, allowing one to get the most from their workouts. You'll know you've established this connection when every rep during your workout seems to feel in the zone and everything just feels right. It's as if you can feel the muscles working harder, getting more pumped, and the deepest muscle fibers getting activated as your sets continue on. The stronger the link between your mind and your muscles, the more intensity you can apply within your training. Establishing this connection is key to unleashing and raising the bar of your own personal intensity levels.

Quote: the workouts that were most intense and stimulated the best results were those that will always be remembered.

Blogged by Todd Fitchett