How do we know when to stop?
Soreness the next day seems to be the universal indicator that we have had a good workout. Other than that I think most of our decision about how much and how many are made in our head or is made for us at the exclusion of what our body is telling us. I was watching a client today and notice the client’s body coming to a stop but her making the decision about whether she should keep going based on a decision she was making in her head without consideration of the cue her body was giving her.
Our culture and conditioning say no pain no gain. We have been criticized and called names because we didn’t push our selves beyond the point where are bodies said stop. I have talked to clients who have said that they feel guilty if they don’t push themselves beyond the point of fatigue.
Taking a muscle to fatigue while glamorize and dramatic in the body building magazine or in Rocky movies is not that dramatic in real life. What usually happens is the muscle stops at the beginning of the movement to mid movement and it is over. (Check out Fitness Solutions Facebook Page for example) You put handles, dumbbells or barbell down and rest or go to another exercise. There is no yelling, screaming or squirming to get another rep. The muscle stops moving the bone which stop moving the handles which causes the weight to stop. All that is to be done is done and you move on.
That said, I can see why my clients want to do more it doesn’t fit into our cultural conditioning when it comes to exercise. Some say what about mental toughness? What if I want to have mental toughness? Well how about sitting cross leg in meditation for and hour and not move. You can get the mental toughness without the wear and tear on your body. It also is a form of mental toughness to maintain your form and experience the death of a overdeveloped self concept when your muscle comes to fatigue in less dramatic fashion.
That said, I can see why my clients want to do more it doesn’t fit into our cultural conditioning when it comes to exercise. Some say what about mental toughness? What if I want to have mental toughness? Well how about sitting cross leg in meditation for and hour and not move. You can get the mental toughness without the wear and tear on your body. It also is a form of mental toughness to maintain your form and experience the death of a overdeveloped self concept when your muscle comes to fatigue in less dramatic fashion.
