In my opinion, successful strength training and muscle building can basically be summed up in one word, the word being, “feel.” If you can tune-in to the right feel, the right results will begin to materialize in response to your training. Therefore, it is to your advantage to learn the proper feel of ten different aspects of weight training. These ten feelings are discussed in the content below:
Feeling #1
Powerlifters must be able to feel the right lifting groove that positions the muscles and body leverages in the best position possible to lift the most amount of weight.
Feeling #2
Bodybuilders and any lifter who is primarily focused on building muscle must be able to feel a strong muscle contraction in the muscle(s) being trained from the start to the finish of a lifting motion.
Feeling #3
You must be able to feel the difference between an exercise that is effective for your body, and an exercise that is ineffective for your body. An effective exercise will allow you to feel the training stress on the muscles you are building, targeting, and strengthening. An ineffective exercise will either feel uncomfortable, or it will fail to help you to properly engage the muscle you are focused on training
Feeling #4
Powerlifters must be able to feel the best rep range for stimulating optimum strength gains, and bodybuilders must be able to feel the best rep range for stimulating optimum gains in muscle size.
Feeling #5
You must be able to feel a steady rep rhythm when performing a set of an exercise. If you feel your lifting rhythm slowing down, stop the set.
Feeling #6
Powerlifters must be able to feel the amount of sets they can perform at full strength for a given muscle group. My advice is that if you feel your strength starting to decline as you repeat sets, stop doing sets for the muscle group you are training.
Feeling #7
Bodybuilders have a different criterion for how many sets they should perform. I believe that bodybuilders must be able to feel the pump and only train as long as they can maintain a good pump. Sometimes staying pumped is a simple matter of changing to a different exercise. In contrast, if you have reached your limit for the optimum number of sets for getting the best pump possible, it’s time to move on to a different exercise.
Feeling #8
You must be able to feel the right training pace in terms of how fast you should move from set to set in order to build strength or muscle size. For powerlifters the pace is about allowing a muscle to fully recover before doing another set. For bodybuilding it is about performing sets at a pace that helps you achieve the best pump possible.
Feeling #9
You must be able to feel when you are fully recovered between workouts. Your muscles should feel strong and your level of energy should be high before training a given muscle group.
Feeling #10
If you really want to succeed at weight training, you should feel good emotionally while you are training. Every time you pick up a weight, your brain and your emotions should be sending a signal to the rest of your body that you love what you are doing. Positive emotions release positive hormones that have a positive effect on your body. Negative emotions release negative hormones that have a negative effect on your body. Every time you lift weights your training should be paired with positive hormones that are release by positive thoughts and emotions.
I have heard both powerlifters and bodybuilders try to explain the feel that they know they must experience in order to achieve progress, and it is difficult for them to explain. When it comes to your own training, you should develop an awareness of the way your body feels when you are making progress, and you should also know the feelings that correspond to ineffective training. Don’t just listen to what others say about how you should train. Learn to listen to your body and learn to understand when it is telling you that you are doing something that is working and when you are not. If you learn to follow what your body wants you to do, results will follow. Best of training to you.
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