new to weightlifting, just a few questions

[chemjeff]

Hi all,
I'm not in good shape at all (5'11", 235 lbs, ~30% fat) and I've decided to get into better shape so as to lose some weight. I'm working with a personal trainer on some weightlifting exercises, but I'm still confused on a couple of questions:

(I'm very new at this so I don't know a lot of the fancy terms, my apologies in advance!)

1. Sometimes when I do an exercise, towards the end of a set I struggle to lift the weight but I can't identify any part of me that is sore or in pain. I simply can't lift the weight. I don't know why this is. If I can't lift a weight, doesn't it mean that some muscle somewhere is failing, and I should be feeling that pain from the fatigued muscle?

2. My trainer often tells me to focus on a particular muscle when it comes to lifting a weight. I have difficulty doing this. For instance today I was doing dumbbell flies and he said to focus on using my chest to lift the dumbbells, but instead it was my arms and shoulders that ended up getting sore. How does one focus on a particular muscle to lift a weight? I asked my trainer and he said that this is something that just can't be taught. So how can I learn it? If I can't learn it, does that mean I'm doomed to wear out the wrong muscles all the time?

Thanks in advance for your helpful advice!

 

[tenpercent]

Fatigue does not hurt. If you can complete your reps lower the weight until you can complete the prescribed number of reps before moving up in wieght.

I don't focus on muscles when I lift. I lift. Your trainer is trying to sound knowledgable. Although there is some reasoning behind the focused lift the benefits are negligible when it comes to the average guy. Don't over think it. Pick up heavy stuff and put it back down.

 

[chemjeff]

Tenpercent, thanks for your advice!

Fatigue does not hurt. If you can complete your reps lower the weight until you can complete the prescribed number of reps before moving up in wieght.

So are you saying that if I reach failure on a particular exercise, it is okay if there is nothing hurting or no "burn"? I always thought that failure meant that something had to hurt. Okay thanks for clearing that up.

I don't focus on muscles when I lift. I lift. Your trainer is trying to sound knowledgable. Although there is some reasoning behind the focused lift the benefits are negligible when it comes to the average guy. Don't over think it. Pick up heavy stuff and put it back down.

Okay I feel a little better now. I felt terrible today when my trainer brought these exercises that were designed to work my chest and I ended up wearing out my arms instead. I felt like a total failure. Then he asked me to do some push-ups and I couldn't even do one, I think both because I'm weak but also because my arms were fatigued and I couldn't support my weight.

 

[g8r80]

... what Tenpercent said...

I think the "focus on the muscle to isolate it" stuff is BS. As for muscle fatigue, it will not hurt immediately and if it does, there is probably something wrong. In a couple of days, you can probably expect a heavy case of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Don't be alarmed, it is natural for rookies to get this.

It sounds like your arms are weaker than your pecs. No big deal. Tell your trainer that and he/she should modify your program to bring your arms up to speed.

Also, to lose weight, cardio with weights is the ticket.

 

[chemjeff]

... what Tenpercent said...

I think the "focus on the muscle to isolate it" stuff is BS. As for muscle fatigue, it will not hurt immediately and if it does, there is probably something wrong. In a couple of days, you can probably expect a heavy case of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Don't be alarmed, it is natural for rookies to get this.

It sounds like your arms are weaker than your pecs. No big deal. Tell your trainer that and he/she should modify your program to bring your arms up to speed.

Also, to lose weight, cardio with weights is the ticket.

What do you mean by doing cardio with weights?

Thanks for your helpful advice!

 

[g8r80]

To clarify: develop a cardio exercise program (that gets your heart rate up to at least 70% of your maximum heart rate) in conjunction with the weight training. Your personal trainer should have some suggestions for your max heart rate and suitable cardio exercises, but these include running, treadmills, cycling, swimming, elliptical machine, etc.. Some do cardio and weights on the same days, but for rookies, I would recommend doing them on alternate days.