Day 248: One More Rep!

G'day,

A great day at the "office" today. I did my Lactic Acid workout for legs, shoulders and triceps.

Before I started my workout I mentally psyched myself to get one more rep on each set of each exercise (at the same weight increment) than I had the last time I preformed this routine (15 days ago).

This may not seem like a big goal but there is an extremely powerful underlying principle to this "method of attack".

The Progressive Overload Principle

On the physical realm this is called "progressive overload" which means you continually strive to increase the intensity of your workouts by manipulating rest times, weight increments and rep counts (amongst a host of other macro-factors).

By consistently implementing "progressive overload" you increase the stress on your muscles. As a consequence you will increase your muscle mass due to the "magic healing process" that takes place after tearing your muscle tissue (on a microscopic level).

In reality, a full-blooded physique transformation will not occur unless you implement "progressive overload" every single workout. It really is that important.

On A Practical Level

To incorporate "progressive overload" on a practical level you must have detailed notes on weight increments, sets, rep counts and rest periods in your training log.

This log is extremely powerful information to have when you are planning your next workout. Armed with this info you can decide beforehand which "progressive overload factor" to manipulate for that day's workout.

Today's Results

Today I decided to focus on my rep counts. I decided beforehand to pump out (at least) one more rep on each exercise.

Check this, not only did I get one more rep on every single set I actually beat my previous best by 2 or 3 reps on some sets. This is so powerful! This is irrefutable evidence that I am progressing and on my way back!

As you can probably tell this is also extremely powerful on a psychological level. This further instills belief in yourself and your ability to continually make improvement.

I can't wait until I do Lactic Acid again in 14 days...next time I'll get two more reps!

Peace,
Adam Waters, NESTA-CPT

P.S. The Lactic Acid workout is one part of the Metabolic Surge program I am following for M3 Phase 1. I also followed this program for Missions 1 & 2. For more information on my personal experience with Metabolic Surge click on my Day 75 blog post.

P.S.S. Below are my Day 248 pics for July 14, 2007: Mission 3 Phase 1 - Day 19 of 60.