Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank
I broke my lying leg raise record today by several reps. I had a feeling I would thanks to the amount of work I put in using the leg weights. But, it’s not over yet. In fact, I also broke my record for the scissor kick. Why is this important?
Actually, doing things like breaking your own lying leg raise record is instrumental in several ways.
It’s more than just trying to look like a swimsuit model.
Focuses Motivation
For me, setting a new personal record fuels my motivation to do more. Today, I did 28 before it felt like my abs were on fire. However, I am not the kind of person to hit a mark and be done.
No, I have to beat that last number. In essence, I am in competition with myself…which is better than trying to keep up with those who are ultra fit.
Anything better than what you can do before is a victory!
Demonstrates You’re on the Right Track
Being able to break things like a lying leg raise record shows you’re on the right track for fitness. Even if you beat it by one repetition, it’s still an improvement you can work on.
Depending on how much you beat the record by, you can adapt your exercise strategy to include variations, more reps or other elements to strengthen yourself. For me, I’ll probably increase the reps with the leg weights.
Personally, I still need to do a lot of body work. Everything from nipple-height and up is starting to look amazing. But the gut still looks like a barrel. Though, it’s not the round party ball it was before.
Provides a New Goal to Work For
Like I said earlier, hitting the mark is only the beginning. With a new record to beat, you need to keep up the activity to build onto a stronger you.
Now that I hit 28 reps, I’ll work to beat that record before the Halloween party I am going to. This gives me about six weeks to do as much as I can to break my lying leg raise record yet again.
And it’s something I am fairly confident I can accomplish. And then after that, I’ll aim for another all-time-high.
That’s the key element to keeping track of your exercises…never settle. Always strive to be better than you are regardless of the activity.
Shows How Fit the Abs are Becoming
Breaking my lying leg raise record reinforces my belief that I am getting stronger. When looking in the mirror, my abs are still covered by a lot of fat. However, I can see the middle line of muscle going down.
The more work I put into them, the more defined the muscle will become. Of course, I still need to do my part in eating well to stop the fat from forming in the first place.
Theoretically, I could have a decent six-pack developing under this beer cosy of a body I have at the moment.
It’s a Good Judge of Weight Loss
Now, here is the most important part of keeping track of things like a lying leg raise record. Surpassing personal fitness records are a good way to gauge weight loss.
Why is that? Because one pound of muscle takes less volume than one pound of fat.
I know a lot of people who get frustrated trying to lose weight because of what the scale says. What they fail to realize is their overall body volume is lower and their muscle mass is greater.
As long as you’re eating right and breaking personal records for workouts, there’s a good chance you’re probably losing a lot of fat volume and replacing it with muscle.
This is why I suggest people use measuring tapes or take pictures of themselves regularly to see if they are losing fat mass. The scale can easily provide a false-positive as you might be creating as much muscle as losing fat.
It’ll look like you’re not losing anything…but are considerably stronger than you were before with a smaller waist size.
In fact, I need to go shopping for new shorts.
How to Set a Lying Leg Raise Record
This is how I go about breaking my records. I’m sure a lot of experts have their own ideas, but this is what works for me.
And, this process works for more than just lying leg raises.
Use Exercise.com
Exercise.com is a great tool for workouts. The site provides instructions, videos and stats across more than 2,000 different exercises. Plus, you can earn points to pit your physical prowess against others who use the site.
At one point, I was within the top 1000.
It’s a free system and is useful even if you only use it to keep track of your personal bests.
Establish Your Current Best
Now, you need to establish your current record. This means grinding out as many reps as possible before your muscles feel like they’re going to melt out of your body.
This will be the base point of what you need to beat later on.
For instance, I recorded 28 reps this morning in Exercise.com. This is where I could no longer keep going.
Set a Goal Date
When do you want to break your lying leg raise record, or other exercise you’re working on? I usually set this to anywhere from one month to six weeks.
It’s unlikely you’ll shatter your record if you try to make it a weekly goal. But it’s not impossible.
In reality, this is completely up to you. Personally, I like to obliterate my record. This means I work longer on “training” muscles to handle higher reps.
Do Routine Ab Works
In this instance, I’m focusing purely on abdominal muscles. And any workout that puts pressure on the abs will benefit every other workout using those muscles.
For instance, planks will impact the number of reps you can handle later to set a lying leg raise record…and vice-versa.
One of the things that helps me is doing standing crunches while playing the Xbox Kinect.
How I Train for Reps
When training to break my next record, I take the current number and divide it by two. Then, I do three sets of that.
For example, I set my lying leg raise record today at 28. Now, I’ll do 14 reps at three sets each workout. This is in addition to any other core exercise I do for the day, such as planks.
This works well for me and I don’t feel like I need to throw up later.
Add Weights
If you really want to add work to your muscle groups, consider adding weight. In this case, wearing the ankle weights greatly improve muscle mass while training to break my record.
Since my abs are accustomed to handling the additional weight, I am able to do more reps without them when going for my record.
This is resistance training at its finest.
It’s all about making your body use more energy while creating dense muscle to move while wearing weights. In fact, I also wear weighted gloves which have immensely changed my upper body.
Can You Break Your Own Lying Leg Raise Record?
For me, setting records to beat gamifies fitness. I am competitive, especially when it comes to myself. Breaking the lying leg raise record filled me with pride, accomplishment and motivation to do it again.
Find what keeps your mind in the game and take advantage of it. Next thing you know, you’ll step out of the shower with a stomach someone can wash clothes on.[template id=”3591″]
About Author
