Most Common Workout Mistakes

Today was one of those days that I couldn't help but people watch while I was in the gym. What I usually notice the most when I do this (besides the gym hottie in her tube top and skin tight pants) is the poor and sometimes silly looking workout routines and techniques guys (and some girls) use in the gym. I thought I would make a list of some common mistakes I see being made in the gym so that you can make sure you aren't making them. Each of these will certainly put a hamper on building a hard body.

1. USING TOO MUCH WEIGHT - Guys want to feel macho in the gym so they load up the bar with more weight then then can handle correctly. These guys easy to spot in the gym. They can be seen lifting their but in the air and bouncing the bar off of their chest during a bench press (very dangerous) or performing a squat by lowering the weight to where their quads are only at 45% as opposed to 90%. They swing violently during bicep curls and a seated dumbbell shoulder press looks more like an incline bench press. Bodybuilding is about stimulating the muscle not building brute strength. Make sure that you use a weight that you can perform with strict form for 8-12 reps each set so that you can really work the target muscle fibers. It doesn't take much weight to do this if you are really focusing on working the muscle not lifting the weight.

2. USING THE SAME ROUTINE OVER AND OVER - You need to continuously change your routine and the types of exercises you do if you want to build a body that looks toned and muscular. Using different exercises will stimulate different muscle fibers for a more rounded physique.

3. NOT GOING TO FAILURE - If you aren't exercising the muscle to failure you aren't going to get the results you are looking for. You have to push your muscles beyond what they are normally capable of. Make sure that on the last set of each exercise, you really push yourself. If you are going for 8 reps and finish 8, try and get a 9th or 10th rep. Ask someone around the gym to spot you for safety on heavy compound lifts. You can also use drop sets, rest pause, and other techniques to achieve failure. See previous posts for examples.

4. TOO FEW OR TOO MANY REPS - Remember, you are trying to build muscle and get tone not become a power lifter. Shoot for a rep range of 8-12 reps per set for compound movements and 10-15 per set for single joint exercises. If you can't get 8 reps let go of the ego and drop the weight.

5. NOT ENOUGH REST - This is probably one of the worst mistakes you can make. I see guys in the gym all the time workout their chest one day only to come in the next day and hit the bench press again. In bodybuilding less is sometimes more. You need to give your body adequate resting time before you work a fatigued muscle again. Shoot for a minimum of 48 hours before working the same body part again.