Every time you head out to exercise, be it at the park, in the gym, with friends, at a sports event, etc. There’s a big question to ask.
How hard are you going to push yourself?
Some people admittedly struggle with the idea of actually pushing themselves during workouts.
Of course, the most obvious reason for this is because pushing yourself is actually quite unpleasant.
For most people, the idea of pushing your physical limits in an exercise-type setting just doesn’t feel good.
The result?
Well, people who don’t like how it feels may find ‘less intense’ methods of getting up, moving around, and staying in shape preferable because they’re easier.
But here’s the question.
Are workouts actually as effective if you don’t push yourself?
If you don’t push yourself when you work out, are you actually sacrificing a whole host of potential benefits?
This is a great question.
And Insider.com actually published an article specifically answering the question:
How do you know if you’re pushing yourself enough at the gym?
And it held some awesome information that you probably need to know.
Let’s dig into it and learn the truth.
If You Aren’t Breathless During Cardio, You’re Probably Not Pushing Yourself Enough
Listen:
Cardio doesn’t always feel good.
Yes, there’s such a thing as a ‘runner’s high,’ but in truth, most people don’t find the experience of increasing their heart rate through cardio a ‘pleasant’ or ‘pleasurable’ ordeal.
Yet, here’s the truth.
If you’re not sweating and breathless during high-intensity intervals of the exercise, you’re probably not pushing yourself enough to really do you a lot of good.
You want to be breathless enough that having a conversation with another person is pretty difficult due to the fact that you’re breathing heavily.
Of course, you don’t need to start out so hard that you do yourself in. You just need to make sure to reach that level of intensity, even for just a few moments, if you really want the workout to give you maximum benefits.
Are Your Muscles Sore After? If Not, You Probably Didn’t Push Hard Enough
If you’ve ever felt sore after a rather intense workout, then you know exactly how this feels.
For example:
Have your biceps ever ached after a great set of curls?
Has your chest ever ached after a good set of push-ups?
If so, this is a good sign.
It means that you’re actually pushing yourself hard enough for the workout to provide a decent benefit.
If you never feel sore after your workouts, there’s a very good chance that you’re just not pushing yourself hard enough.
In Conclusion
Hopefully, this post has helped you to understand how to know if you’re pushing yourself appropriately during workouts.
Of course, the whole goal is to get fit and stay healthy. So seeing (and feeling) results is important.
If your workouts haven’t really been leaving behind any indicators of effectiveness (heavy breathing, sweating, muscle soreness after the fact), then you may want to either increase your workouts, find better accountability for helping you to stay committed, or enlist the help of a personal trainer who will actually guide you as you attempt to get the results you desire.