e·go A person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance: "a boost to my ego".

We've all seen the people using half of their body weight trying to do an exercise just to get a crazy amount of weight. I saw it today in the gym & it just set me off. First of all, dude, i'm married & secondly, don't boast to me about your "weight" because I did correct you on your form. LOL! I will admit at first I hated not being able to lift as heavy as the person next to me. It drove me INSANE & frankly pissed me off! So, what I did was I lifted like a crazy person & used other body parts to lift the weight. What I didn't realize that by lifting too heavy I wasn't just not getting enough time in muscle under tension, but I was also not isolating that muscle(s). Therefore I wasn't working that muscle good enough & I wasn't seeing a lot progress. My stupid ego was so concentrated on lifting “heavy” & outdoing others that I missed out on the point of the workout….TO BUILD MUSCLE!!! My ego was torn to shreds when my husband came to the gym with me. He knows how to knock me down a notch. I told him that I was really excited that I could do 100lb Lat Pulldowns. I got one with correct form, but the next 4 were awful. I wasn’t even concentrating on my lats when I was pulling it down. He immediately told me that I wasn’t doing it right & that I only did 1 rep with correct form. Right then and there I realized that the reason I wasn’t making progress with my back was because I was lifting too heavy. Here is what I had to realize in order to see amazing results:

1. I had to realize that i wasn’t in competition with the other people in the gym. I am in a competition with yesterday’s self. I can’t worry that the lady next to me can squat 200 pounds. I am building muscle & that’s all that matters. I have not only gone from squatting 80lbs to 110lbs, but I keep correct form. That brings me to #2….
2. CORRECT FORMis KEY to building muscle & not injuring yourself. (ie. If you don’t squat with the correct form you can DESTROY your knees. I have seen it happen to people). You might have to lower your weight, but I promise you that you will see better results. I see people all the time do half a squat or half bent over row. Well, maybe if you didn’t a billion pounds on there you could actually do the exercise correctly.
3. There is NOTHING wrong with taking it slow (obviously within moderation). If you are truly wanting to build muscle and in return raise your BMR then going slow & making sure you have correct form isn’t going to hurt you. A lot of exercises become more challenging when they’re slowed down. (ie. Try lowering your arms slower when doing a bicep curl. Using your full range of motion is sometimes harder because you need to use all your muscles to do it all the way.) That’s why it takes me a little bit longer in the gym because I make sure I get a good stretch & contract with my muscle. I don’t use other parts of my body & I truly concentrate on that specific muscle or muscle group.

I know all of this might sound like bitching, but I promise you i’m being completely honest. I couldn’t even do a pull up until I fixed my form on my back exercises & now I can do 10 in a row and it only took me 3 weeks…NO ASSISTED MACHINE NEEDED! I’m sick of seeing people trying to impress other people in the gym or wherever with “heavy” weight when they have improper form. You look like a complete idiot to people who know what the heck you are trying to do. I know I chuckle because I used to be that same idiot. Even though I try & help them I usually get a snarky response, so I just let them be and get on with my workout! Now, I’m not saying to not lift heavy just be smart about it & USE CORRECT FORM. If I’m doing a new exercise I usually do a moderate weight to make sure that I have proper form. There are also tons of videos on YouTube & bodybuilding.com to show you how to do it correctly. I usually study a new exercise for a while to make sure I do it right. I would rather go a little light & not blow a knee out or pull a shoulder muscle. That’s it! Be smart! <3 Okay…that’s enough snarkiness for one day…hehe *evil laugh* L<3Ve & God Bless! C ISSA Person Trainer HW Fitness “Don’t be a follower. Be a leader even if for a while you are only leading your shadow”