Something that I've pondered over a while is whether our bodies have an 'ultimate' strength? In other words, do we hit a ceiling at some point?
I am looking for goals to set myself now. Only recently have I gone from the main goal of my workouts being to enjoy them (thus make working out sustainable) to really pushing myself (because that is fun now!).
I've found setting a goal difficult: I only look at the scales for interest, but I don't use it for progress because I can't account for putting on muscle weight. I tried taking measurements of myself and in 4 months they have stayed almost identical except for losing a couple of centimetres on the hips and I have a fluctuating bust! I do the FB PFT minus the mile run because along with a fear of the gym, I'm not comfortable running in public. PFT results have also remained consistent for 4 months! I took some 'before' photos in May, and I struggle to see much difference other than muscle definition.
All this I have struggled with, but I don't mind too much at the moment. I'm still experimenting with how much rest I take. Consistent with advice on the community here, I find I see changes when I take more rest. I would, however, still like to see some measure of progress. The only place where I'm seeing changes are what my muscles look like and how much weight I'm lifting. With this in mind, I think I might set goals based on amount I lift.
I pay moderate attention to what Kelli lifts, but I find it difficult as my brain is currently wired in kg. It may also be difficult to keep track as, following a programme, the chronology of videos will be all over the place. Where I have been following though, (ventral and lateral raises), I notice she stays pretty consistent.
My mind also regularly moves to limitations - how women tend to lift so much lighter than men, how, if we don't intervene, our muscles naturally lose mass as we get older.
So I wondered what are your thoughts on setting lifting more as a goal? For any of you who've been working out consistently over the years, do you find you tend to plateau, or are you slowly and steadily climbing up those weights still? Does anyone else set lifting more as a goal? If so, do you have specific numbers in mind, or just a general aim to 'lift more'? Any thoughts appreciated.
Amount lifted as a goal?
Hi folks,
Something that I've pondered over a while is whether our bodies have an 'ultimate' strength? In other words, do we hit a ceiling at some point?
I am looking for goals to set myself now. Only recently have I gone from the main goal of my workouts being to enjoy them (thus make working out sustainable) to really pushing myself (because that is fun now!).
I've found setting a goal difficult: I only look at the scales for interest, but I don't use it for progress because I can't account for putting on muscle weight. I tried taking measurements of myself and in 4 months they have stayed almost identical except for losing a couple of centimetres on the hips and I have a fluctuating bust! I do the FB PFT minus the mile run because along with a fear of the gym, I'm not comfortable running in public. PFT results have also remained consistent for 4 months! I took some 'before' photos in May, and I struggle to see much difference other than muscle definition.
All this I have struggled with, but I don't mind too much at the moment. I'm still experimenting with how much rest I take. Consistent with advice on the community here, I find I see changes when I take more rest. I would, however, still like to see some measure of progress. The only place where I'm seeing changes are what my muscles look like and how much weight I'm lifting. With this in mind, I think I might set goals based on amount I lift.
I pay moderate attention to what Kelli lifts, but I find it difficult as my brain is currently wired in kg. It may also be difficult to keep track as, following a programme, the chronology of videos will be all over the place. Where I have been following though, (ventral and lateral raises), I notice she stays pretty consistent.
My mind also regularly moves to limitations - how women tend to lift so much lighter than men, how, if we don't intervene, our muscles naturally lose mass as we get older.
So I wondered what are your thoughts on setting lifting more as a goal? For any of you who've been working out consistently over the years, do you find you tend to plateau, or are you slowly and steadily climbing up those weights still? Does anyone else set lifting more as a goal? If so, do you have specific numbers in mind, or just a general aim to 'lift more'? Any thoughts appreciated.