Flexing your muscles after a workout WILL lead to gains.

2026 Day 160. #PersonalDays.

Gymmaxing has taken over my attention the past few days. I have been reading and learning a lot and implementing some of the advice I found most useful to myself. These ideas are not simply about doing the right kind of exercise or the accurate number of sets. Instead they focus on the attitude with which you do these exercises and how to stimulate your muscles more without inducing any form of injury.

A recent blog talks about the mind muscle connection. I have seen significant improvements during and after exercising.
During I get tired quicker because my perceived effort has greatly increased so my body employs more muscles effectively at the same level of intensity. With lower weight I am also not prone to injuries.
After, I have observed that my muscles are slightly sore for longer. I have increased vascularity since I started implementing this, and there are small (albeit subjective) improvements in my physique.

Since the advice worked out greatly for me, I have decided to go a step further.

To have increased muscle development, you can also start cooling down but very consciously.

Instead of committing to just stretches I try to repeat the exact workout I had been doing just without any weight.

Assuming I was doing bicep curls, here is the new plan I follow.

Pick a decent weight — 5kg is too easy, 10kg feels right, 12.5kg is probably best, 15kg is crossing the comfort zone, 20kg is possible. So I chose to work out with 7.5 or 10kg, I want to keep it slightly easier. I do not want to strain my muscles with the weight but instead strain it with the perceived effort of lifting something heavier.

Imagine a heavier weight — Increasing the effort you think you are putting in is the goal. You are training your mind to trick your body into thinking that something is heavier than it actually is, and thus your body starts utilising more muscles for the job. The actual lighter weight minimises the risk of injury and helps you maintain a better form overall.

Conscious relaxing — Instead of just stretching I am imitating the action of a bicep curl. I close my fists as tightly as possible, flex my bicep (and muscles in the arm at large) and curl 0 weight.

So how does this help?

When I am working with 0 weight, my muscles are fully flexed. This is less about gaining more muscles and more about figuring out the impact of the workout. The more invigorating the workout the harder it is to do this. Unintentionally it also makes me aware of any imbalance (left vs right) in the workout I just finished.

Continuing with the example of the bicep curl, I feel the burning sensation in my biceps, and a little in my forearms as well. I try to look in the mirror as I do this consciously registering the “pump” from the workout. This is not easy and is almost as hard as doing in the actual exercise. In my mind I am trying to lift something heavy and pushing my biceps to the limit. Think of this like the superset to the previous workout. The more it burns the better my workout had been. It makes me feel more positively about exercising a certain way and tell my mind that the workout was effective.

Flexing changes the shape of the muscle (temporarily) and increases blood-flow. Both of these are beneficial. By changing the shape and full taking it in, I am building an image of how I want the body to look. I am pushing towards a better shaped relaxed muscle. Anyone who goes to the gym regularly understands what I am talking about here. Increased blood-flow promotes performance and recovery[GAT]. This dynamic cool down makes me more aware of the strain that I have put my muscles through.

I did a quick upper body workout after a short run. For my legs, I only did the two stretches I have talked about and for my biceps and triceps I followed the approach I am recommending in this blog.

In comparing my feelings I have realised that my legs feel more “tight” than my arms do. While both are slightly sore, most of my attention goes to arms as it the pain feels stronger. There is no difference in how I am using my arms. At the same time my legs feel a little restrictive. I find myself massaging the muscle to relax it even further. Without stretching it would have been worse but now maybe I have the path to something smarter.

See you tomorrow.