Are You Training Hard Enough?

For those of us who lift without trainers or training partners, it can be tricky to tell if we are lifting with enough intensity.

So how can you tell if you are lifting heavy enough?

Source
Jamie Eason -- this girl definitely trains hard

If you are lifting heavy enough, you should get to the end of your rest period (45-90 seconds, see my training page here) and feel like it wasn't enough time.

If you are lifting heavy enough, you won't have the energy or even the ability to look at other people during sets, much less be able to tell whether or not they are watching you (I'm looking at YOU, people who don't work out because you're self-conscious!)

Don't stop performing an exercise when the reps start to get more difficult to perform. Continue pressing, curling, etc until you literally hit the wall -- as in, you physically cannot perform the motion again. Note that I said cannot, not don't want to.  You may be surprised at how many more reps you can get out -- and how much more weight you should, therefore, be using. 

Source

Typically the weights you should be using should be moderately difficult to lift right from the very first 2 or 3 reps. If you're not experiencing any difficulty until your 6th or 7th rep -- try to increase the weight. See what happens. See what you're capable of.  I see so many people -- men and women alike -- underestimate what they're capable of lifting. It's an easy trap to fall into; it's so easy to convince ourselves that this arbitrarily chosen rep is the last one we can crank out. My challenge to you is to try to get one more beyond that...and then one more. You'll be shocked at how much further you can push yourself, I promise.

Have you ever surprised yourself with your own strength? What has been your biggest aha! moment with exercise?