What You’re Doing Wrong With Your Workouts That’s Stopping Your Results

I was at the gym one day this week and this super nice guy that always talks to my workout partner and I was doing a lat pull down next to us and saying…

“I’m just not strong anymore, I can’t lift a lot of weight”.

It’s hard for me not to say something to that, so I proceeded with an explanation that he didn’t ask for but know he appreciated.

I want to share that with you today because it will help you get better results from your workouts.I also want to share my top secret to getting the best results. Read about it here.

In my 20 years of personal training, I found this to be one of the main reasons people don’t see the results their workouts.

It doesn’t matter how much weight you lift.

It doesn’t matter if you are not “Strong”. Unless your goal for working out is to increase strength.

What matters is that you work at the right intensity on every single set you do in every workout.

How do you do that?

You have to reach momentary muscle failure at the desire rep.

Every rep range yield a different result, so you can’t workout and grab a set of weights and just do however many you can or want.

There has to be a plan according to your goal.

According to your goal, you will have a certain, rep range, tempo for each exercise, order of exercises, how you pair the exercises, rest between sets, etc.

Example

So lets say for example, your rep range for this month is 10-12.

That means that every exercise you do you have weights that are heavy enough that you reach momentary muscle failure at 12 reps.

That means you can’t do 13 reps.

It means that when you are getting to 10 reps you it is burning and you are almost not able to get to 12, but you can.

A lot of people don’t work at the right intensity, they will grab say a pair of 8 lb weights and do 10 squats just because that’s the number they had in mind and they are not even challenged at 10 reps, they could probably do 5-10 more reps.

I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to decide your rep range and not be able to surpass it on every single set. I wrote a post about how the number of reps can affect your results, read about it here.

It doesn’t matter how much weight you are using, what matters is that you reach that momentary muscle failure at the rep range.

And it can be a little trial and error on the first set.

For example: Say I’m doing bicep curls with 10 lbs and my goal rep is 12.

I do 12 and I can easily do more, so I get to 15 before I reach muscle failure.

The next set I would grab 12 lb or 15 lb weights and if I got to muscle failure then that’s the right weight and I would try the same weight for set 3.

Make sense?

Tempo

Now, it also depends on the tempo.

Tempo is the amount of time the muscle is under tension during each rep.

Tempo is a number for seconds each rep takes. It’s 3 numbers.

The first number is the eccentric phase of the rep. For squats it would be going down to 90 degrees.

The second number is the amount of seconds between the eccentric and concentric.

So for squats it would be the time at 90 degrees.

For example: If I had a 312 tempo, 3 would be going down into 90 degrees of the squat and it would take me 3 seconds. The second number is a 1 so I would hold the squat for 1 second before going up.

The 3rd number is the concentric.

In this example, its the way up from the squat, so it would take me 2 seconds to go up from 90 degrees.

When thinking about intensity, tempo also comes into play and decides how much weight you use.

Tempo Example

If my tempo is 411, that is a total of 6 seconds per repetition. I will be able to lift way less weight for 12 reps with that tempo than if my tempo was 201. That is 3 seconds total that the muscle is under tension so its going to be a lot easier to lift heavier weight for the same rep range.

I know….. It can get complicated.

But exercise is a science, my friend.

There is a lot to it and I get frustrated when people give up on their goals and give up on working out because they didn’t see results when I know for dang sure that they aren’t taking into consideration all these things.

And these things can be the difference maker in you actually getting results from your workouts.

Ok, enough of the exercise science for today, don’t want to overwhelm you.

But do want to make sure that at the very least, from today on, you will do every set of exercises you do in your workouts at the right intensity.

Reaching momentary muscle failure at every set.

Can you do that?

It may take a little trial and error at the beginning while you find what weight makes you get there, but its OK.

I’d love to know your thoughts on this.

Did you know exercise could be so complex? LOL.

It doesn’t have to be if you have a good plan and someone to create workouts for you that are effective, with the right tempo, amount of reps for the desired goal, rest between sets, order of exercises etc.

Eh-hem… enter ME 🙂

When I created Fit Mom For Life, one of the things I wanted to make sure was in it was tons and tons of tried and tested workouts that could be used month after month without the dreaded plateau, without getting bored of the workouts and while seeing results every month.

There’s tons and tons of workouts in FMFL.

But workouts is just the tip of the iceberg of whats in there.

There are so many videos with strategies to losing fat, speeding metabolism, carb and diet manipulation, recipes, cooking, meal plans, organization tips, supplement tips and so much more. Also, tips like this, for times when you are stuck.

If you have been working out or worked out in the past and didn’t really see results, maybe it’s time you made an investment in getting a program that will really guide you to ding it the right way.

If you are down for that, click on the link below.

You can start today and get access to all of it for as little as $25, we have several options.

Check out what these mamas have to say about Fit Mom for Life!

​Click Here To Get Fit Mom For Life!​

By the way, check out 5 things I’m loving.

5 Things I’m Loving

Bloom Planner: I’m a sucker for a cute and good planner and I’m a paper and pen kinda girl.. Yeah, old school. While I do use my phone for a lot, I need to use a planner. I get this one every year.Click Here​

Artificial Flowers Silk Bougainvillea: While I love real flowers, I’m spending a fortune on them weekly and I’m terrible at taking care of them, I just don’t have time for them. So I invested in faux flowers and found a great website with beautiful ones but they are sooooo expensive. I recently did my bathroom and closet and needed knew flowers, I found some beautiful bougainvilleas, I’m obsessed with them and they are 50% cheaper than the ones I bought before. Click Here​

Cosmetic/Toiletry Pouch: Ok, this one I’m obsessed with it. I got it for gifts for my friends for Christmas and birthdays, and even Anabelle my daughter asked for one for Christmas and got the pink one. I got the gray one, its so sparkly and classy and good quality and roomy, its literally the best. Click Here​

Liposomal Vitamin C: I have been doing research on supplements and learned that the only and best kind of vitamin C is liposomal. So I found this one which I love this brand, its clean, non toxic and affordable. With the flu and covid and so many viruses going around, everyone should be taking a good vitamin C daily. Click Here.​

Vanity Chair: I’ve gotten a ton of questions on Social when I do videos or take pics in my new bathroom about my vanity chair. Its so pretty! I love it, and I think its pretty affordable. It goes anywhere! Click Here

Talk Soon!

Love,

Michelle Marie

Check out the video for my favorite weight loss tips that are not diet related!