Why Your Workouts Aren’t Working

One of the most common ways to hit the weights is by doing a whole bunch of exercises for 5 sets of 5, 3 sets of 10, or 4 sets of 12.

And while there’s nothing wrong with using these set and rep schemes…

There’s one glaring issue most people face with them and they don’t even know it.

The problem is if you’re so focused on the exact rep counts, it’s really hard to make any tangible progress.

Here’s An Example Why Strict Reps Are Holding You Back:

If I’m doing chest press for 4 sets of 12, I’ll have to use a weight light enough to do it.

At that point, I’d be shorting myself on the first set so I can hit 12 reps on the last set and the final result of that exercise would simply be tiring myself out with minimal stimulus for muscle growth.

But if I was pushing hard each set, my sets would look more like 17, 14, 10, 8 with that same weight.

And even though I wouldn’t be anywhere near 12 reps on that last set, the simple fact I pushed so hard on my sets would stimulate more growth.

A prime example is a recent back workout where I did 11, 8, then 4 chin ups.

4 lol

But I can assure you, combined with dumbbell rows, shrugs, curls, and facepulls…

I completely toasted my back and just now feel like I’m recovered 2 and a half days later.

That’s because I’m not focused on rep count…

I’m focused on effort count.

That’s the real secret to progress.

Any questions? Let me know.

Talk soon,
-Gabe