Hi L,

I just got home from a workout with my trainer (I work out 3x/week with a trainer) and the most physical thing I can do right now is sit here reading and typing.

Your trainer is correct about the toning. I just don't happen to want to wait that long. I want those muscles shredded by the end of a workout so two days later I can actually feel how much stronger I am and, in fact, experience it as it shows in my next workout. To this end, I go with the heaviest weights and go (sometimes only 10 reps if I'm lucky) until I'm gruntin' like a wild boar. (Btw, everyone in my gym is skinny, doesn't sweat and doesn't make any noise when they workout. I, on the other hand, am not skinny, stink up the whole gym with my ketone-infused sweat and vocalize profusely. Ask me if I give a s*it.) I move quickly (60 second breaks) to the next routine until, depending on the body part, for example my arms are hanging like a couple of wet noodles. My workouts are not fun. But, when I hobble out of the gym, I FEEL GREAT and it last all day! Yes, I hurt, for which I take alot of L-glutamine (the weight lifter's best friend). I also come home and feed those aching muscles so they will be efficient in their recovery.

As for the free weights, they are almost always * better than machines (* there are some machines that can work muscles that free weights can't) because they force you to use other muscles for stablization. In other words, more bang for your buck.

HTH,

Jones