How do you know if your intense enough?

[chrisk500]

This is my first post but I have been reading these boards for months. I have been weightlifting for about 8 months now and am starting to see decent gains especially in my upper body. I can't seem to get rid of the stomach fat but I also know that my diet is not dialed in although I am trying. My question is - everyone talks about intensity of training. I follow a routine where I do 4-5 exercises per body part, usually 3 sets of 8-10 reps each. I always train to failure on my last set and can actually only get in 4-6 reps on my last set. My muscles just seem to just stop though and I don't get the feeling that I could almost do one more rep if I just try a little harder. So what actually is intense? I also see posts that say don't overtrain and don't go to failure..... if you don't train to failure it doesn't seem that you would ever "feel the burn". How do you know if you are training hard enough without over training?

[Wayne Evans]

This is my first post but I have been reading these boards for months. I have been weightlifting for about 8 months now and am starting to see decent gains especially in my upper body. I can't seem to get rid of the stomach fat but I also know that my diet is not dialed in although I am trying. My question is - everyone talks about intensity of training. I follow a routine where I do 4-5 exercises per body part, usually 3 sets of 8-10 reps each. I always train to failure on my last set and can actually only get in 4-6 reps on my last set. My muscles just seem to just stop though and I don't get the feeling that I could almost do one more rep if I just try a little harder. So what actually is intense? I also see posts that say don't overtrain and don't go to failure..... if you don't train to failure it doesn't seem that you would ever "feel the burn". How do you know if you are training hard enough without over training?

I'll bump this one......

Intensity?
When I'm working out I focus on good form with every rep and I breathe correctly.
I only do 3 exercises (reps being 3x10) max per muscle group but concentrate on the mind/muscle connection to make sure the muscle group I'm working is actually feeling it correctly.
I also go to failure on 3rd set also but I workout alone so I need to be smart on the 3rd set.
One needs to force the muscles to grow so (IMO) you will need to push yourself a little and get to know your body better as time goes on.

Overtraining?
I think there are different schools of thought on this so I'll let others fire up the coals on this issue.
I am able to add 5-10# every two weeks or so as I work up to 3x10 again.

Maybe your daily eating habits pre/post workout are affecting your confidence in increasing your 'intensity'?

I'm no expert but others here are.

I know I forgot a couple of things to mention but hope that helps a bit and good luck.


www.soundclick.com/wayneevansproject

[chodan9]

I'm not sure how to best answer this.
Early on while I was still learning I would hit the gym and come away exhausted, and know my workouts were good. I didn't really know what the difference was between an intense workout and what wasn't, I still may not know heh heh.
Today I work out at a pace that would have killed the me back then,
its a combination of weight, pace, mental focus, mostly the ability to push yourself past where you could before, and I am not talking about just weight or reps.
Early on my body would say that and my mind would say "ok I'll stop here"
you get to a point where your body tells you "not another rep" yet you do 3 more. now my mind says "oh yeah? well we will just have to see about that"
its hard for me to verbalize it.

[kimsquit]

IMO there's no such thing as "intense enough" anymore than a person can be "happy enough" or "angry enough". It's not an action, it's a state of mind - and it'll be different for everyone, because not everyone has the same goal.

[KeepItMoving]

5 hernia surgeries and 1 blown lumbar disc surgery. Oh, I'm intense! (And my form probably sucked too!) But seriously, just be honest with yourself. Did you give the best effort you had that day?

[mickelarr]

I'm just getting back into lifting, but the lessons I learned long ago are coming back to me regarding these topics. These philosophies served me well years ago, and I expect they will again.

RE: Overtraining -- I believe people over-think this topic big time. My rule of thumb is simple: If you are consistantly adding weight to the bar and making progress, you are doing just fine. If you are following a training program for a specific amount of time and not making progress, then something is wrong. It doesn't make sense to show up and work hard only to get nowhere. So, let that be your gauge. If you aren't making progress, it's time to re-evaluate your parameters.

RE: Training to "failure". IMO, if your goal is to "train to failure" it is a somewhat negative mindset. But, lots of guys do it very effectively, so really it's a personal philosophy, not fact. On the other hand, if your goal is to do 3x10 with 200lbs, and you "fail" on the 9th rep on the last set, then at least you are working toward a more concrete goal. If you are only getting 4-6 reps on your last set, it sounds like you are using too much weight (if your goal is 3x8-10). If you choose 200lbs as your work weight (for example) you should be able to do the full 3x10 with 195 lbs. (Or, if you're doing a single set of 10, which would effectively be your 10RM, you ought to have, at one time in the recent past, gotten 1x10 with 195 lbs) Weight training is also called "progressive resistance training" but sometimes people forget the "progressive" part and just focus on stimulation. I think this is a mistake. You increase your strength by taxing your strength, setting and meeting goals. That's how you get bigger and stronger. If you train that way you you don't ever need to question if you are training hard enough, "feeling the burn", whatever. The results speak for themselves.

[bamazav]

5 hernia surgeries and 1 blown lumbar disc surgery. Oh, I'm intense! (And my form probably sucked too!) But seriously, just be honest with yourself. Did you give the best effort you had that day?

WOW! my two hernia surgeries and lumbar surgery just makes me a newbie. I think intensity is very much a heart issue. If you are just going through the motions, you will never be that intense. Set goals and determine to make them no matter what.