When it comes to working out, problems can always appear. Even the best athletes in the world can make mistakes. That is why they have personal trainers that keep them on track. In the event that you see yourself looking the same, there is a huge possibility that you are making some mistakes at the gym.
The mistakes highlighted below are common with both novice gym enthusiasts and professionals. No matter what point you are at in your training, take a look, be honest with yourself and if you make such mistakes, fix the problems right now.
The Same Workout Problem
A few years ago I was going to the gym constantly with a friend and noticed that 2 teenagers were always doing the same things. We called them “The Biceps Clan” since that is what they kept doing when we were there. I changed gyms at one point and then worked out somewhere else. After around 6 months I came back to the original Gym. The Biceps Clan was still there, doing the same things. Guess What! I had more muscle and definition and they looked exactly the same as when I saw them the first time.
You have to change your workout every 4 to 6 weeks. If you do not do that, the body basically gets used to your routine. You reach a plateau and you will keep getting frustrated when all that has to be done is mixing things up.
Working Out Every Day
There are always people that you see every single day at the gym, no matter when you go. These people are not the trainers working there. Some may be but in most cases these people make a huge workout mistake: they go to the gym every single day.
You need to recover after a workout. Going every day puts too much strain on the body and you will feel like you do a chore instead of something that you like. This can lead towards missing sessions and a loss of motivation. Rest days are vital and they need to be added to your schedule.
It needs to be added that another problem is that you do not take a break. When you workout for the entire year, burnouts are extremely probable. If you feel that training is not working anymore or your motivation is low, taking 2 weeks off can be the smartest decision you ever made.
Working Out Like The Professionals
Did you ever pick up a magazine, saw the workout routine of a professional bodybuilder and started to do exactly the same things? Well, this is another huge common mistake. There are too many people at the gym that use advanced techniques or weight that are too heavy. The truth is that you need to climb the ladder so to speak. You need to start from the bottom, get to know your body and see what works for you. For instance, Arnold used huge weights in his workouts while other top notch bodybuilders never did something like that as another workout technique worked better for them.
The big problem here is copying what you see at the gym. You do not actually know what the fitness goal of a person is. If you end up copying and the goals are different, you will end up with unsuitable results. Only take advice from people that are qualified and have your best interest in mind.
Socializing Instead Of Working Out
Remember The Biceps Clan? They also went to the gym to pick up girls. Every serious athlete realizes that this is a lot tougher than what we see in movies. When you go to the gym too often, it starts to feel like home. That is when the line between working out and socializing can be crossed without realizing it.
Think about the breaks that you need to have between sets and exercises. Whenever you feel that you take breaks that are too long and you find yourself talking to people instead of working out, it means that you crossed the line. You go to the gym in order to get fit, burn calories and work out. You should not go there to hook up.
Lack Of Exercise Goals
Why do you go to the gym? What are your goals? Exercise is definitely enjoyable but if you do not know why you are doing a monster rip, there is a pretty good chance that you are doing something wrong. You need to think about both the long term and short term goals that you have. Chart the progress and if you have no idea what your long term goal is, talk to someone from the gym staff. It is their job to help you out with this.
Working Out When You Have A Cold
So many people believe that when they have a cold, working out actually helps in healing the body. This is false. It if was true, why is there no known remedy for the common cold? Training makes the immune system weaker since it needs to repair damaged muscles. When you have a cold, your immune system is already weak. Weakening it even more with a workout makes it tough to recover.
Only Using Workout Machines
You surely know someone that only uses workout machines. You might be one of these people. The problem with evolving if that is the only equipment you use is that the body understands the limits that it has. Growth in a particular muscle group does not happen if necessary stabilizing muscles are not as strong as they should be. Using dumb-bells instead of machines from time to time will help out a lot more than what you think right now. That is because movement is never restricted to just the muscle group that you work on.
Lack Of Warm Up
Every single day I see people that start working out without a warm up. I have no idea what they are thinking since this is one of the worst things that you can do at the gym. It can lead to injuries and the muscle is basically too affected when you just force it to do an exercise. There are hundreds of articles that talk about warm ups on the internet. Read them!
Using Heavy Weight For Muscle Building
Beginners and even some advanced bodybuilders think that they need to always lift as much as the body can handle. That is not true. In fact, such an approach will most likely limit growth as the muscles are hit in a way that is highly predictable. Also, properly controlling large weights is really difficult. It is a very good idea to do some extra reps or use lighter weight while thinking about using a wider motion range. Technique is vital at the gym. When you just use heavy weights, there is a pretty good possibility that your lifting technique is flawed, which can even lead to injuries.
Conclusions
You need to know what you do before you actually start doing it. This is a basic principle that you need to understand when you go to the gym. The more knowledge you have, the bigger the possibility that you will avoid gym mistakes like the ones mentioned above. Remember that these are just common. Many others exist and have to be avoided.
If you made a huge mistake at the gym, share it with us and all the readers in the comments section. Let us know so that we can all grow together.