About 1 years ago I was in the middle of a set of bench press and a guy RANDOMLY began spotting me.

 

He began screaming "it's all you, it's all you!"

 

I wound up doing about 2-3 more reps than planned.

 

 

 

I wasn't mad, because I know the guy BELIEVED he was doing me a favor.

 

We have been taught to push past the pain and do reps until we can't take it.

 

The problem?

 

This makes us sore and fatigued the following day.

 

 

When you are sore the following day, your performance can suffer.

 

It's fine to be a touch sore...

 

...but you definitely want to minimize this when possible.

 

Minimizing soreness is especially critical when you are trying to lose body fat.

 

When you aren't sore, you will go into each workout fresh.

 

 

This is why in my book 12 weeks physical transformation journey I recommend stopping 2-3 reps short of failure.

 

When sets are pushed to the limit it breaks the muscle down.

 

This can build mass (which is something most women aren't aiming for)... but it also makes it tough to want to train 4-5 times per week (which is ideal for getting lean).

 

For men, I recommend something similar.

 

The only exception is that in the first phase of my program it is focused on fatigue to build a bit of base muscle.

 

In phases 2 and 3 it is focusing on strength, fat loss and muscle definition.

 

 

Consistently showing up is key to getting lean.

 

When workouts are too intense TODAY, you run a serious risk of wanting to skip your workout TOMORROW.

 

Let's compare two different workout approaches:

 

• Intense approach of lifting 3 times per week with max intensity.
• Moderate approach of training 5 times per week less intensely.

 

The are 52 weeks in the year.

 

This moderate way of training gets 100 more calorie burning workouts in per year.

 

This is a SIGNIFICANT difference.

 

Daily exercise is also crucial to long term health.

 

This moderate approach is healthier and creates the type of body that the majority of men and women are after.

 

It also means less chance of injury, you don't feel sore and will have more energy.

 

Consistency beats intensity (most of the time).

 

 

There are times when short periods of intensity of called for.

 

You can push to failure on body parts you want to add size to.

 

A lot of women who follow my program will go to failure on glute exercises, and stop short of failure on everything else.

 

I personally will push to failure on delts, because I want to add size there...

 

...but stop short of failure on everything else to make sure I feel like training the next day.

 

The main point?

 

Going all-out on every exercise is not a great long-term strategy.

 

It's glamorized in the gyms and on Youtube, etc.

 

It's not the best way to train.