Are you really getting the most out of your workouts? It may seem like you are, but just “checking the box” won’t get you to where you ultimately want to be. However, that may just be a mental feeling of accomplishment over the reality of productivity.
It’s called Junk Volume, and basically, it’s referring to your reps, sets, or full workout where going through the motions is par for the session. You feel good because you were disciplined to go to the gym and put in the time. Yet, if you were to work out a third of that time with purpose, intensity, and focus the results would be staggeringly higher.
Focus on your mind-muscle connection plus the exercises that are best for you. I’ve been guilty of doing a chest exercise such as the chest press on a machine that doesn’t engage my muscles like another movement. In my head, I feel better because I got in 4 sets of chest exercises. The efficiency of that exercise was not even worth my time. Throw out exercises that don’t challenge you or the muscle. A contributing factor of this can be a bad form or your personal anatomy is not in unison with the exercise. For example, some people’s anatomy won’t let them squat properly. Their femur bones are longer than a typical person’s. This will cause their form to suffer resulting in bad muscle recruitment as well as possible injuries. Throw these exercises out the window if there isn’t a modified replacement and focus on the exercises that you feel get the muscles to work the hardest in the right form.
It’s important to get your mind right before heading into the gym. Have a purpose, goal, and vision of how you want to attack the next hour plus. The goals and results you set beforehand depend on how you make each workout count to the best of your ability.
