…How’s that for an eye-catching post title? 😉
I’m not a vain person at all but I will tell you one thing: I love looking in the mirror after lifting weights or swimming. My muscles look SO defined that it kinda makes me want to wear something that shows my arms off. As deluded as it sounds, it turns out that it’s not in my head at all. Contrary to popular belief, it is indeed possible to improve your physique nearly immediately and there’s actually a term for it: “The Pump”.
Oh but you CAN see results after a day!
The ‘Pump’ refers to the tight, blood-congested feeling in a muscle after a weight training exercise. Muscle pump is caused by a rapid influx of blood into the muscles to remove fatigue toxins and replace supplies of fuel and oxygen. As a result the muscle may seem full and tight (i.e. “pumped”) for a short while after. If you want to lose fat or gain strength, the Pump has no benefit for you. If you want to boost your ego and look more toned/ripped, drop and give me 30 :)!
On that note, here’s the workout I did this morning which left me ‘pumped’…both physically and mentally. It incorporated a good mix of cardio, free weights, and body weight:
The “Boost Your Ego” Workout
- Superset 1: 30 squats & 20 bench dips – –> 2 sets, both body weight
20 minutes cross trainer (if you’re running low on time, 5-10 minutes should suffice)
2 sets of 12-15:
- Superset 2: Lateral Pulldowns & Barbell Upright Rows
- Superset 3: Tricep extensions & Dumbell Shrugs
- Superset 4: Overhead Press & Bicep Curls
- Front Raises
1 mile sprint on the treadmill
- Knee press-ups– 2 sets of 15
- Crunches – 2 sets of 20
- Plank: regular and then once on both sides–> hold for 45 seconds each
Love this and the routine! I get the same way after a great workout, you just feel hot haha 😉
Seriously…sweat is sexy 😀
I’m going to steal some of your strength moves! I love feeling “pumped” too…like I always say, it’s the little things!
I agree 100% …I’m pretty sure that a majority of my joy stems from the little things in life!
Haha thank you so much for this! I barely ever have time to fit in a real workout with my work schedule, but this sounds more than feasible…plus I am a little vain 😉
Haha like I say- you can never be too hot 🙂
Ha you are right, the title did pull me in 🙂 Great workout you have here… I am probably going to attempt this tomorrow!
Let me know if you do!!
I am not too much into toned etc, but you are right about this post title – it definitely got me thinking 😀
I figured it would make for a catchy title 🙂
Oooh I feel toned just looking at this workout! Definitely going to do this before my holiday parties 🙂
Forget make-up and hair, press-ups are going to be part of my ‘getting ready routine’ when the holiday parties start ;)!
I can totally relate! It makes me feel so strong. My calves look hot after a run, I’m not gonna lie! My puny biceps get a little boost too after hitting the gym, which is always nice.
hahah even my arms look pretty good after running- must be all that swinging ;)!
Oh I’m with ya – and I’m SO glad to know that it’s not just in my head either!! I don’t work on my arms as much as I should. this is a good reminder that i should.
I always have to push myself to get some strength training in too!
this is a great power workout!
i started working out my arms more and started with 3 sets of exercises yesterday. My boyfriend is a personal trainer and health consultant and finally started working with me… i always thought i needed to do A LOT of exercises in order to oomph up my muscles but my bf would not let me do more than 3 sets and those had to be CORRECT. oh gosh it was hard- those excercises really worked more parts of my body than my arms. 🙂
Form is so important- took me a while to realise that 10 proper reps > 20 average reps! Would love to check out your workout if you posted it!