You Don't Need To Feel The Burn For A Set To Work
For years, women have been told that a workout only “counts” if it burns. If your muscles aren’t on fire, if you’re not sweating, if it doesn’t feel uncomfortable then it must not be working! Not exactly. That burning sensation has been seriously overvalued. And for many women, it’s created unnecessary confusion and frustration around strength training. What “the burn” actually is The burn you feel during higher-rep sets is largely caused by a build-up of metabolic by-products, such as hydrogen ions and lactate. It’s uncomfortable, and it gets you really feel it but it’s not a direct measure of whether a muscle is being stimulated effectively. You can: feel a big burn and make very little long-term progress feel very little burn and still get significantly stronger The sensation itself isn’t the goal. What makes a set effective A set “works” when it places enough mechanical tension on the muscle and is taken close enough to failure. In simple terms, effective sets us...
