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.

Exercise Intensity is Key to Building and Toning Lean Muscle.

When you are in the gym as much as I am, you see it time and time again; people moving through a workout routine as if they were folding laundry or cooking a roast on a lazy Sunday. These people can be identified by blank stares, long pauses between exercises, chatting over in the corner with others like themselves, and as dry as can be not a drop of sweat on them. I can't help but feel a little sorry for them because while they worked up the motivation to get to the gym and throw a few weights around, they very likely will notice little, if any change in their body in the weeks and months ahead and will become very discouraged.

Now I am by no means saying that light exercise doesn't have health benefits, but if you really want to work towards a leaner, toner, more muscular body you must train with intensity. What I mean by intensity is that you must push your body a little further than it is used to going during physical activity. For example, if you just did 10 repetitions of a particular exercise, try adding 10 pounds and see if you still can get 10, or keep the weight the same and go for 12! When lifting the weight becomes difficult or near impossible you have reached a good point to stop and move on to the next exercise (this will create beads of sweat - a good sign that you are training with the proper intensity). Another great way to increase intensity is by decreasing the amount of rest between exercises (this will create lots of sweat beads. I use this one a lot since I despise cardio).

The human body is an amazing organism and when pushed a little beyond normal capacity it adapts and changes. What that means to you, without getting into scientific descriptions of how muscle is actually "built", is that you will notice changes in your body when you look in the mirror and WE ALL LOOK IN THE MIRROR FROM TIME TO TIME! Not only will you gain physically, you will feel better emotionally knowing that your hard work is actually getting results and it will make it easier for you to work up exercise motivation. In the weeks to come I will talk about more advance intensity training methods such as rest-pause, drop sets, pre-exhaust, and more. Good luck training and remember that with every rep you get closer to a hard body.