Most people's bodies spend the majority of their time in a state of equilibrium or balance. This simply means that they are not building muscle and they are not losing muscle. The only way to disrupt this state of equilibrium is to impose a physical stress on the muscles of the body. You must impose stress on the body in a way that it is not used to in order to force an increase in muscle strength and size. This may seem difficult for many but there is so much incorrect and or bad information out there that you may very well be spinning your wheels when it comes to your workout routine.
Once you have read this article and implemented these strategies your muscles will adapt and reach a new level of equilibrium. After imposing a new demand on the body, the initial response is always exhaustion. The body will fight to return to its previous level of equilibrium. But the human body is amazing and it will not be content with this. The human body wants to be prepared for that demand the next time it's faced with it, so the body will actually overcompensate and rebuild itself bigger and stronger. That is what you want!!! You will realize this effect when you are able to exceed your previous performances in the gym (bench press 225 lbs x 5 reps to 225 lbs x 7 reps). The end result is a bigger and stronger muscle.
This is the reasoning behind why you must always shoot to top your previous week's performance and constantly be adding weight to your movements or doing more reps with the same weight. Your body quickly adapts to the same weights and reps in your workout. When you repeat that workout for a second time you have absolutely no choice but to go up in weight or reps. This tip cannot be stressed enough and must not be discounted. Every workout is a war between you and your previous performance logged in your training journal, and you must do all that you can to ensure that you emerge triumphant each and every time as much as possible. You will lose some battles along the way but you will not lose the war. You must stick to this critically important tenet or you will never develop the muscular physique you're after. www.hodgetwinsfitness.com