Successfully Reaching Failure During Your Workouts

Diana Del Garbino, Owner & CEO of Muscles in Motion

Summer seems to have gone by so quickly this year, in contrast to sitting at home during the “Stay Home/Stay Safe” order which seemed to last a year!

Question: Are you taking advantage of the nice weather by getting outside every day and at the minimum taking a short walk?

What an easy way to boost your energy and clear your mind.

As for me I’ve finally turned a corner in my healing… I have ENERGY!

It hit me about the first week in August that my workouts started getting harder, but I wasn’t wiped out for two days anymore. I was able to stay awake all day without feeling that I would need to sleep for 12 hours. But then my eating turned south… I baked a whole carrot cake on Saturday evening and finished it for breakfast on Monday. ?

Normally, sweets aren’t my first choice. Hmmmmm, something is definitely not going well. I contacted my doctor and she gave me a B-vitamin complex and just like that the craving for sugar and cake was gone. I really felt better and even played golf, and rode my bike in the same morning!! 

My point is that it is really important to listen to your body and be aware of unusual behaviors and feelings.

With that said, let’s talk about WHAT is happening in your body when you push yourself during your workout and WHY it’s so important.

Remember, last time I talked about Hypertrophy=building of muscles. HOW to do that is really relevant here. Completing an exercise to the point of Momentary Muscular Fatigue is what tells the brain that “There was not enough ENERGY in that muscle to complete the repetition.” The brain then sends a message to your muscle to repair what breakdown happened and make room for more energy next time.

That’s how you’re able to complete a better repetition, lift more weight or keep the muscle under load longer the next time you come in to workout.

Each of these equate to MORE energy!

The optimal amount of time for recovery is 48-72 hours in between workouts. 

In the next blog, I will talk more specifically about recovery. For now, focus on pushing yourself to complete muscular fatigue in each exercise to make sure your body adapts and changes for the next workout!!