Top 10 Biggest Gym Mistakes of Beginners – Hey guys!. In this post, I’ll be discussing a list of Top 10 Biggest Gym Mistakes of Beginners. Do you exercise regularly, yet the results are far away from satisfactory? Or is all the effort getting sidelined because of pulled muscles? Not to forget, muscle pain leaves you wide awake at night.
Oh, we do not intend to freak you out or motivate, you just stop working out and go curl up in your blanket, binge-watching instead. I intend to shed some light on something you might be overlooking. Perhaps the problem does not lie with exercising. Maybe it is more about the exercising methods. Don’t believe me yet?
Here are the 10 most common mistakes that beginners make. Read this article till the end. You might encounter something very relatable. Alright, lets get into it!
1. The Ego Lift
This is a big no-no for anyone at any level of training. Lifting up your ego is an act of lifting or pushing a lot of weight without the conscious effort of keeping form in the hope of pleasing your friends, the opposite sex or an experienced lifter.
News flash, there is nothing more hilarious than seeing a guy use the wrong workout form to try to please someone, take it from me. Even though your friends may think it is good, you usually put yourself in a dangerous position and getting an injury is highly likely. So don’t give into that ego.
2. The Notorious Hygiene Lack
A gym is a place where hundreds of people visit per day, sweat and share the same place and equipment. This makes the gym an excellent party hub for a variety of germs. It is essential to make sure that you are as clean as possible.
This means that if you use a machine or bench, give yourself time to clear it when you’re done. When using the bathroom, wash your hands. Have some common sense, would you like to sleep on a bench that was dripping with sweat? No? Then why not someone else.
Do your part and help stop the spread of germs by taking healthcare and cleaning equipment. The last thing you want to do is get sick and miss a workout, bidding a sad fare well to your health plan. Always remember that the best way to teach is by example.
3. Carelessly Leaving Weights Everywhere
All levels of coaches are guilty of this one. Not putting plates and dumbbells in the right places is the biggest pet peeve for many people.
It is very frustrating to look for weights in the gym every time you wanna do a set. It is a bad practice to lose weight but it can also be dangerous. People can stumble, fall, and hurt themselves very easily. So the least we can do is avoid leaving weights everywhere.
4. Socializing
When going to the gym, your first goal should be to get a good workout. We understand that a gym is a place where people usually not only go to workout, but also to enjoy themselves. However, it is essential to make sure that the fun does not take over your exercise. There is no way to focus on exercise when your mind is somewhere else.
What we say to beginners is to find a friend or friends who have the same goals as you. When you are in the gym, a little talking is fine but never gets to the point where you stop your workout or take unnecessarily long breaks disrupting your flow. Friendly jokes here and there are okay, but too much entertainment will not lead to any results.
5. Neglecting Collars
Freeway training is a very effective form of training and very dangerous. The reason behind both is that the weight is not on an endless plane. The weight is free to move as it pleases so the balance game comes in. If you are new to using a barbell scale while squatting or bench pressing, it can be difficult as many beginners prefer their dominant side.
This can lead to one side rising faster than the other. The weight moves towards the weaker side. This would not have been possible if you were using columns we’ve seen crazy things in the gym, but nothing is scarier as much as seeing a coach lifting weights without using a collar. The last thing you wanna do is put yourself in a dangerous position. Collar up the weight and lift all you want.
6. The More is Better Rule
The old saying, a lot is not always good is also true for weight lifting, lots of weight, lots of sets, lots of reps, all in vain. I strongly believe in quality over quantity. We love our fair share of volume when we hit weights but there is always a limit, always. All beginners should start using a full body exercise classification and apply the top five sets to the major muscle groups.
At this point, your repetition range should be between 8 to 12. Rest periods should not exceed 90 seconds. It may be beneficial to rest for only 60 seconds between sets, but you need to work on that. Ultimately, the amount of weight you lift should not always go up from one exercise to the next.
You should be able to easily make a set using the appropriate form with similar weights for a few weeks before moving up. Never add weight for extra effort. Quality is the name of the game.
7. Not Balancing Weight Training and Cardio
This is where the ladies and gentlemen are separated. When young girls arrive at the gym they usually go straight to the cardio machines. They are known as cardio bunnies. When young boys enter the gym they go straight to the weights known as boys. There is no good name for boys. They are just, well, boys, boys beat weights and women do cardio in hopes of achieving their goals.
We are here to tell you that each sex is missed when they do not balance weight lifting and cardio. Women can’t get toned, soft muscles just by doing cardio. You’ll burn all the muscle you have and end up looking fine without the curves you desire. Guys, you can’t be lean and be drawn merely by hitting weights.
It would help if you did cardio to help dissolve some of that body fat so that women can actually see your six packs. You should know that your heart and lungs are the most critical muscles in you. When not in shape, you’ll need to stand in shorter sets than you would if your cardiovascular system was in good shape.
8. Having No Plan
When you walk into a gym you should always have a plan for what you will do. We advise all beginners to keep a journal and write down everything in it. They should have a workout routine. It tells you which muscle groups you’ll be exercising each day, a cardio program, and a log with detailed training results, including sets, reps, and weight.
Beginners fall into the trap of not planning ahead, waiting until they reach gym and do whatever they want. This leads to a lack of approach in shorter, more haphazard results.
9. Forgetting All About Nutrition
Now I know this article was supposed to be about the gym but nutrition is the key to seeking desired results. Nutrition is simply 90% of the trick. You can adjust your buttocks by making an excellent exercise program using the best form and strength, but it will not go anywhere unless your nutrition is healthy. Training and nutrition are parallel. One cannot succeed without the other.
10. Giving Up Before Your Body Shows Any Change
The transition from an inactive lifestyle to an active one is a drastic change and to your body, it sounds like a threat at first. Generally it can take up to two to three months for your body to stop fighting your new custom tooth and nails and start reacting in the form of muscle gain, fat loss.
Unfortunately, most people stop after four to six weeks or sooner if they do not notice significant changes in their bodies. This is not something pleasant to hear, but it is true. Also, if you have a calorie deficit, your body’s desire to protect and retain each calorie will be even greater.
The catch here is to be more assertive than your body. Eventually your body will receive memo, respond to what you do in the gym and begin to understand that you can live and thrive with what you put into it. However, in the end is different for each individual.
Those were our tips for what not to do once you started hitting the gym.
That is it from today’s post on Top 10 Biggest Gym Mistakes of Beginners. If you do not agree with the points in the post and have some of your own opinions, share them with us in the comments section down below. Keep visiting Real Fitness Soul for more information about Fitness and Health.
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Chandan is the writer of “Top 10 Biggest Gym Mistakes of Beginners”. Also, Connect with me on Instagram and Facebook.
