How to improve your workout, and how to get past a plateau are two subjects discussed quite frequently, and it seems as though the same half a dozen or so mistakes, including poor form, overtraining, going too heavy, not stretching, and not warming u...
How to improve your workout, and how to get past a plateau are two subjects discussed quite frequently, and it seems as though the same half a dozen or so mistakes, including poor form, overtraining, going too heavy, not stretching, and not warming up are the usual mistakes people bring up. All of these definitely need to be considered in order to have a successful workout program, however, there a some other "not so common" mistakes people are making that can stop their progress dead in its tracks, or result in no gains at all. Here are 5 Common Workout Mistakes and Tips to Improve.
1.“Winging it†Showing up to the gym with no goals, no plan, and no journal is a sure fire way to fail. A lot of people just get to the gym, and bounce around from machine to machine, exercise to exercise without a real plan. This is not the way to build muscle.
TIP: Develop a plan: Determine what your goals are, and how you are going to accomplish them. Have your workout planned out before you leave for the gym. Heck, you can even plan it out week by week and stay way ahead of the game. It is also a good idea to keep a journal of all sets/exercises and the weight you used each workout in order to increase the reps/weight the next workout.
2 Doing the same workouts over and over without increasing weight used/reps/sets: While it is a good idea to stick to the same structure of workout, either the weight used, number of sets performed, or number of reps needs to be increased in order to make any progress. Your muscles need to be stretched and pushed to the limit each rep, each set, every workout
TIP: This is where keeping a journal comes in handy. By keeping track of your sets/reps/weight used, this allows you to look back, and increase one or all for the next workout. Another way to improve would be to complete the same workout, but only in less time. Your main goal each workout should be to beat what you did the previous one.
3. Not Eating Enough: It is true, that a calorie deficit will make you lose weight, however, this needs to be done in moderation in order to be effective. If calories are cut too much, your body is kicks into starvation mode and ultimately leads to muscle loss, decreased metabolism, and plateaus.
TIP: Think about it, if not eating enough slows metabolism, then eating should increase metabolism. Granted this needs to be done in moderation as well, but exercising more and eating more/more often will do a double whammy on your metabolism and increase your fat loss.
4. Using Mostly Machines and Isolations Exercises: Many people get to the gym and head straight for the machines. They work machine after machine thinking they are getting a great full-body workout and being safer at the same time. Truth is most machines aren't as safe or effective as they are claimed to be.
TIP: Use compound exercises and free weights to complete the majority of your workout. The machines may limit your range of motion, and do not develop stabilizing muscles like free weights do. For lower body incorporate squats, lunges, and other variations of the squat. For chest try any form of barbell bench press. For Shoulders any form of overhead press should do, and for back, make sure to include the deadlift. These “main†exercises stimulate more muscle fibers, burn more fat, and increase release of muscle building hormones than machines. Other good “bodyweight†exercises include pull-ups and push-ups.
5. Making Excuses: I can't tell you how many times I have heard excuses of why people can't make it to the gym. I just don't have time, my knees are bad, I've been so busy at work, I can't get away from the kids, I hate working out in front of other people. Well, truth is, most everyone else at the gym also has a job, and kids, and they don't like working out in front of people, and they have had some sort of injury in the past, or are still sore from the workout the day before. Everyone has an excuse they could make to skip out on the gym.
TIP: Just get your butt off the couch and do SOMETHING. Doesn't matter what it is, take 20 minutes out of your day and do 10 sets of pushups, do 20 minutes on the elliptical, run around the block 4 times. Start slow, and work your way into ripping off a 50 minute Squat workout that leaves you sore for 3 days. I realize that it is very hard to “start†exercising again if you haven't in quite some time, however, FACT is that once you START exercising again, it is just as hard to stop!
