Build Muscle Every Time You Hit The Gym

"You have to feel the burn before your muscles will grow." Ever heard someone say that to you? The basic misconception about "feeling the burn" is that once you feel it, you know the muscles are working and are growing. Let's put this myth to rest shall we.


In order for a muscle to grow it has got to be pushed beyond it's capacity. So in a sense, if your biceps can lift 5 kg's 20 times, in order to get those muscles to grow we need to give them harder work. So we would then lift 10 kg's maybe 6 or 8 times until we can't lift it anymore. That point is called failure. When you push your muscles to failure you know that they have worked beyond their normal capability.

This doesn't necessarily mean that you will "feel the burn" but what you will feel the next day is a wonderful pain that will let you know that you have pushed it beyond it's limits. Our muscles don't grow because we feel the burn, they grow because they have been exposed to a stress beyond their limit. Again, remember homeostasis.

Your muscles will not want a repeat of the previous workout so they will grow larger to handle the greater stress. It has nothing to do with a burn or a sensation. That does not mean that you will never feel a burn. It does mean that the burn is not an identification factor in whether we are building muscle or not.

Take every set to failure, the point where you cannot do another positive lift and you will know for certain that you are building stronger muscles. Always remember to rest and recuperate adequately so that you don't over train and cause your muscles to shrink instead of grow.