More Workout Intensity Talk...Making Ugly Faces

In the PNP forums we've been tossing around the term "making ugly faces" when it comes to bringing it in strength training. Why do we call it ugly faces? Because when you are truly working it hard and squeezing out every last rep to burn off fat and sculpt a sexy physique you will not look beautiful doing it.

Look around your gym and take note of some of the best built men (and some of the women if you workout in a gym where women show up in the weights room). Are they usually sweating, wearing an IPod, breathing hard, needing a break between sets to not puke, and contorting their faces into some crazy shapes while working out? Do you do any of that? If not, you aren't working out. You are making a pit stop in the gym before heading home for the day.

For my forum girls, soon I will have some video clips of me kicking my own butt so you can see hard work written on my face when I strength train. That's what it takes to lose weight and make a body you are proud of. Below I'm going to describe how various moves should feel. I'm also using the most common and beneficial moves for your body. Most of you use a three set scheme. That means set one should feel challenging, set two should be adjusted with more or less weight to reach a good fatigue by the end of your reps, and set three should be your all out money set. This is where you do as many reps as you can with good form and you should either be totally struggling at the end or failing. Let me say this...there is one place in the world where failure is a good thing: the GYM!

Squats - often when you hit the wall you will feel like you can't go past a certain point or you will not be able to get back up or you will fall. This is the sign you have found the work zone. Go as deep as you can and when you know you can't do another rep you are done. I'm pretty much near vomit and sucking serious wind on my last couple of sets of squats.

Squats work your butt and your hamstring areas and these typically give out. Lunges and presses work more of your quads and you should feel that fire racing up your leg.

Lunges - burn baby. Your legs better be shaking, your breathing should be heavy if you are walking or alternating, and you will feel some burn happening.

Leg Presses - fight the good fight because a leg press will be a good one to feel the struggle of pressing heavy weight and realizing that you have hit the wall. I always know when I hit the last rep because deep down another one won't let me get the weight back up without some help!!!

Deadlifts - this is another move where you just feel like the energy is zapped out of your legs and back.This isn't an exercise you really feel burn, you just feel failure or fatigue. You should be breathing so hard with these because they use a multitude of your major muscles. I am always sucking serious wind when I finish a round of deadlifts because I'm moving some serious weight.

Lat Pulldowns or Rows - again you should feel like you can't finish the move when you hit the wall. Often my last couple or three reps I have to drop the weight because I pull the bar to me and I get about halfway and start fighting with the weight. I will struggle with it trying hard to pull it to me for at least five seconds. If the weight doesn't move in five seconds I know it's time to drop the weight down and finish out. That point is called the "sticking point." It's just like it sounds...you get stuck in the move when the muscle if fully taxed. You know what? Sometimes I even don't finish the set because if you have given it your ALL you don't need more reps.

Bench Presses - This is another "sticking" move. With presses, flyes, or push-ups you will feel that failure and stick. The move just gets to where you are sitting there trying hard to keep the weight moving.

Overhead Presses, Shoulder Raises - Ring of fire should be playing in your head especially with raises (front and lateral). I am not only fighting to keep the weight moving but I'm forcing myself to suffer the burn for a good five reps. When burn starts, the set has really only just begun.

Biceps - My bi's always fail on me. I'll be going good, then the weight suddenly starts getting harder to move like I'm moving through mud, and then I'm just stuck with the weight hanging in the middle of the move and me not able to get it up. Then I just drop the weight down and keep going until the next stick.

Triceps - Tris will burn. They are small and they will usually catch fire!

I love to crawl out of the gym feeling spent and that feeling is obtained in the weights room...not in cardio. I use cardio to top off but weights are the place you really make it happen for your body. Give it your all, feel your body working, breath hard, and make them ugly faces just like the men!!!