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More extensive and stronger muscles, not muscle fatigue, are usually one of everybody’s main goals when lifting weights at the gym. But not everybody knows the proper way of achieving this goal! Muscle fatigue is key to achieving your goals. Let us explain this concept.
Repetition Is Key
Researchers have found that while there’s truth in lifting heavier weights to achieve bigger and stronger muscles, there’s also an alternative view. Lifting lighter weights with a more significant number of repetitions can be as effective as lifting heavier weights with fewer repetitions.
The key to gaining bigger muscles with greater strength is to work your muscles to the point of fatigue. First, you need to get to a point where you can’t seem to lift anything anymore. Then, you have to feel the muscles burn, a sensation often described as a warm, tingling, and slightly painful yet oddly pleasurable feeling in the muscles.
The higher number of repetitions is also essential in sustaining the desired muscle-building response a few days after the workout. Your body creates new muscle tissues during recovery, usually a few days after the strength exercises.
During exercise, your muscles experience microscopic tears brought by their stress from lifting the weights. After the workout, your body starts to repair these tiny tears by producing new muscle and skin tissues. Think of it as bridging the tears’ gaps.
Implications of Muscle Fatigue on Your Workout
Let’s assume that you’re using an 11-pound (5 kg) hand weight for bicep curls, which is relatively light. If you want, you don’t have to switch to heavier hand weights for bigger biceps. However, you must perform bicep curls with proper form and technique until you’re fighting to pull up the 11-pound hand weight every time.
Due to their physiological differences, men and women will have different muscle fatigue points. Men, in general, will likely perform fewer repetitions than women, even for those who work out regularly.
Here are a few things to remember
Regardless of your chosen path toward more prominent and stronger muscles, you must remember that seeing concrete benefits from weight training rests on two things. First, you have to use sufficient weight to challenge yourself constantly. And second, you have to repeat the movement an adequate number of times until you reach muscle fatigue.
Remember that you have to switch to heavier weights as you become stronger. As the muscle adapts, you will continue to feel the burn.