Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank
I’ve been steadily increasing the weight on the machines at Planet fitness. But, I think I found my cap on what I can handle on Monday. However, I’m still going to keep trying to improve myself on a regular basis.
I mean, I had to really grind out those last few reps on each of the sets.
Why I Think I Hit My Weight Lifting Ceiling?
Even though I probably hit the max of what I can lift on Monday, it’s not like it’ll stay that way forever. It just means I’m not sure how much more weight I can add to each session.
It might be better to stick with the same routine for a few days to see if there is any difference. After all, I could have been worn out due to several factors.
For example, I didn’t have my pre-workout supplement on Monday. Instead, I opted for Emerge. Mostly, I wanted to see if there was a distinct difference between the two in terms of a workout.
On Wednesday, I’ll go back to the pre-workout to see if I can put in more effort.
Still…
Not 100% Sure of My Baseline
Although I spent the first few weeks trying to find the baseline of where I am physically, I could have been mistaken by how much I could press. For instance, I keep adding more to the Machine Back Extension and am still able to handle it quite easily.
Though, on Monday, it did take quite a bit more effort to crank out those last few reps at 130 lbs.
In fact, every machine today required a hell of a lot more push from me to get to 3 sets of 20 reps. I even had to stop a few times in the middle and then pick up where I left off after a short break.
Then again, I was able to press 55 lbs on the Machine Chest Press and only slowed down at number 17 of the third set. I’ll probably add another five pounds on Wednesday to see how many I can do.
The Way My Lats and Shoulders Feel
Aside from the very beginning of August of going to Planet Fitness, I haven’t felt much in the way of soreness. Monday, on the other hand, I definitely felt it in my lats and shoulders.
Because three of the five machines I use require a lot of effort in my shoulders, I can guess why they are a bit sore. But my lats are a bit of a different story.
Yep…I can definitely feel the burn!
They’re sore in a good way. It’s not like I tore a muscle or anything. It’s the DOMS effect of pushing a muscle group to its max.
Coincidentally, I tied my all-time max weight with the Lat Pulldown at 90 pounds. This is another that I set in February of 2020 before COVID shut down the rec center.
However, I was able to do more total weight on Monday than I did back then. That’s actually pretty exciting to me. I bet I’ll easily break my record sometime soon.
Anyway, I can definitely feel the difference in those muscle groups after Monday’s workout as opposed to the others.
The Sheer Amount of Effort
Every exercise on Monday required far more effort from me to complete the sets. As I said, I had to stop a few times to recuperate some energy before completing.
With the Lat Pulldowns, I had to stop to drop the weight slightly so I could finish. There was just no more gas in the tank for pressing 90 pounds.
In fact, it was getting to the point where I was starting to growl while trying to finish.
Yes, I’m a growler, not a grunter.
However, I’m not 100% sure if the effort lost today was because of not drinking the pre-workout mix. It could just be as simple as having the wrong supplement Monday morning.
Will I Still Try to Push the Envelope?
I still think my strategy for adding more weight is sound. So, even though it took a lot more effort to finish the sets, I was still able to complete all three at a certain weight.
Well, with the exception of the Lat Pulldown.
This means I’ll add another five pounds to each exercise until I have to drop them during the session. I’ll keep the lat work at 90 lbs until I am able to complete all three sets at that weight.
In reality, I won’t be able to build muscle mass very quickly if I don’t push myself to the limits. I just want to make sure I’m not too sore to work or inadvertently hurt myself.
I’m also debating on going to the gym four times a week instead of three. But, I need to make sure I have time in my day for that. Keep in mind I don’t really have a lot of time to throw into extended workout sessions.
This is why I can only really work out for 40 minutes at a time. Well, unless I want to get up earlier…which is probably not going to happen any time in the near future.
I barely sleep throughout the night as it is.
What’s Next for the Weight Machines?
At the moment, I’m going to keep going as I have been. To be honest, the strain I felt on Monday could probably be nothing more than what I drank before going. But, I won’t know for sure until Wednesday.
At any rate, I really don’t see a reason to change the routine much. Sure, it took a lot more effort to crank out the sets. However, that’s a good thing in the grand scheme of things.
Regardless, I’m still breaking or matching personal records. And that makes me geek out quite a bit.
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