“Should I use more weight?”

“Should I use more weight?”

“That would depend on your goal…”

As a personal trainer in Schaumburg, I realize that a lot of times we get caught up on the idea of more is better.  If we can use more weight, we should.  If we can perform more reps, we should.  If we can eek out a couple more sets, we should.  But here’s the issue:  the value in exercise is not actually found in the doing of the exercise, but rather in your body’s response to doing the exercise.

What adaptations are created?  How strenuous was the activity relative to what you are physically capable of doing?  How well did you recover from the activity?

All of these questions need to be considered when you are choosing your exercises.  But this is just the tip of the iceberg.  You not only have to consider where you want to go, but also where you are now.  If the general recommendation for resistance training is 30 minutes, 3 times per week, but you can only do 20 minutes twice a week without feeling achy and sore, you need to build yourself up to the general recommendation.

These are all things to consider when choosing how you want to exercise and how much you want to do.  To recap, there are three important things:

1. Where you are now.
2. Where you want to go.
3. What you can tolerate on the way to getting there.

At Muscle Activation Schaumburg, we take the time to understand our clients’ bodies.  We make sure that their exercise choices are appropriate for them at this moment and are heading them in the direction of their goals.  If you are unsure where to start with exercise, we would love to talk with you to make sure that you are able to exercise for life.  

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