| 1. Training too long
|
I sometimes hear people
bragging about their 3 hour workouts, mind you I only see them in
the gym sporadically. Is it any surprise? Who wants to spend that
much time in the gym? Not to mention going catabolic after an hour
and causing muscle breakdown, and overtraining! Keep workouts to under
an hour! |
| 2. Training too often
|
Too many people think
that more is better, and are in the gym 5 days a week. You grow when
you're not in the gym! Go 2 or 3 times a week, 4 at most. Mike
Mentzers training program of HIT (High Intensity Training) pretty
much requires only one day a week of training! Going too often stresses
the body, impedes recovery, and can lead to overtraining. |
| 3. Not training intensely
enough |
Just going to the gym
and half-heartedly pumping out your 3 sets of 10 will get you nowhere
fast! Focus on each set, giving it 100%. Don't save yourself for the
next set, just lower the weight or do less reps, but don't hold back
on any heavy set! |
| 4. Not getting enough
sleep |
Sleep is when you release
the most growth hormone, and when most of the muscle repair occurs.
The more the merrier, but get at least 7.5-8 hours, aim for 9. |
| 5. Using weights that
are too heavy |
What are you in the gym
for? Build a great body or look like an idiot? Nobody's impressed
by loud grunting on weight you can barely lift. Not to mention you
risk a hernia, torn muscle, torn ligament, dislocated joints, arthritis,
slipped disks, etc. |
| 6. Using improper form
|
This goes hand in hand
with above item. Use a weight you can lift in good form, and you stimulate
the muscle better, and greatly reduce the risk of injury. |
| 7. Neglecting bodyparts
|
Legs are easily the most
neglected bodypart, even though they make up about 40% of your muscle
mass. Training legs has numerous benefits: increased growth hormone
release, improved cardiovascular system, gives your body symmetry.
An exercise like squats works your entire body, and will bring great
gains all over! |
| 8. Not eating often
enough |
You should eat about every
3 hours to maintain a positive nitrogen balance (each meal should
contain protein) which basically means your body won't sacrifice your
hard earned muscles for protein! |
| 9. Not eating enough
|
If your looking to put
on muscle, your going to have to eat excess calories, not a lot, just
a few hundred. It's all too easy to fall into the rut of thinking
'I want to gain muscle, but I don't want to put on any fat', and thus
tend to restrict your calories subconsciously. What I have found to
be effective is the anabolic burst cycling program which combines
2 weeks of bulking up and 2 weeks of dieting down. Read more about
it under my programs page, or look for
an upcoming article that will revisit this program! |
| 10. Doing too many
sets |
This goes together with
training too long. Reading a lot of magazines you are led to believe
it is necessary to do 12-20 sets per bodypart to achieve growth. If
you're on steroids or genetically gifted this is fine. If you're like
the rest of us, this is the expressway to overtraining (unless you
only train a bodypart once every 10-14 days maybe). I make great gains
doing 2-3 very intense sets (preceded by ~4 warm-up sets) |
| 11. Training too intensely
too often |
Training very intensely
(i.e. using negative/eccentric sets, drop sets, rest/pause sets, etc.)
is great for growth, but takes its toll on the nervous system and
connective tissues. My recommendation would be to keep this kind of
training to no more than 2 weeks in a row follow by a week of rest
or 2 weeks of light training. Or just do it maybe once a month, or
every other week. |
| 12. Relying on straps,
wraps, and belts |
These accessories are
great for really blasting out an ultra heavy set, or just for extra
safety during a heavy set. But using them all the time can lead to
dangerous muscular imbalances. My advice, use them sparingly, maybe
1/3 of the time, or only for heavy sets where there you actually need
the 'safety net'. |
| 13. Doing same thing
day in day out without making progress |
If you've been training
for years without results, maybe it's time to change what you're doing.
Best way to find what works for you is to not make next mistake...
|
| 14. Don't keep a training
log! |
Keeping a training diary
lets you evaluate your progress, identify stagnation, and look back
to see what worked for you in the past. Not to mention you can look
back to see how many reps you did with a specific weight before, and
push yourself to do more! |
| 15. Don't drink enough
water |
You should always have
a water bottle with you (drinking fountains suck, you get probably
less than 1/4 cup per visit, plus lots of air to bloat your stomach).
Dehydration quickly saps your strength. Water is essential, so drink
lots!! I usually drink water all day long, and be sure to top up with
2 cups 30 minutes before training. While I workout I'll sip down another
1/2 liter, and again a bit more after training. |
