Common Gym Mistakes and Simple Solutions to them

Wardy257

It depends on the person, that is why logging is so important.  Some people take to it like a duck to water, others struggle so need to make some changes.

Wardy257

20. Only Going to Exercise Classes.  Which Class is Best?

Classes are fun, they can be productive but what people forget it that all classes are generic, they are not specific (No.3) to you. You may want to improve your Legs, Bums and Tums (LBT) but that does not make a LBT class specific to you.  Your LBT may be far stronger or weaker than those the class is aimed at, for example.

I can understand why, for some people, working out on your own is just not your thing and some people just won’t do it.  So if classes are the only thing that floats your boat here is how to get the most out of them.

Firstly, follow all the information in this thread.  Just because it’s a class does not mean you can not; Keep it simple, Keep it specific(ish), select the correct training intensity and so on.

Secondly, and this can be tricky, find a way of logging/recording what you do.  So if you do a pump class then record the weights you lifted for each exercise so you then know what to use next time and try to increase the weights every 2-3 weeks.  You could use a heart rate monitor (cheap from places like Decathlon) and record you max heart rate, average heart rate, calories burned etc.

Thirdly, choose a class that is appropriate to your goals.  If you want to lose weight then I would suggest going to an abs class is not specific, but a good box fit class would be.

Fourthly, mix and match, don’t just do the same old class again and again.  Our bodies adapt quickly to fresh stimuli is needed for the body and the mind.  Some classes are too specific such as Spin and miss out large parts of the body.

Finally, try something new.  The class that you think you will hate is probably the class that will do you the most good.  All humans shy away from things we don’t like and the gym is no different.  Yet, in the gym the reason we don’t like something is probably down to a weakness or inability that will only improve by training that muscle/function etc.

Wardy257

21. Watch, Learn, Copy.

Everybody in the gym, especially the weights area, watches other people either to take the p!ss or to learn, mostly to take the p!ss.  That’s what humans do, but you need to be careful who you copy.

You don’t need me to tell you there are a lot of idiots in every gym but sometimes someone could be doing an excellent exercise, and doing it well but it still does not mean that exercise is suitable for your needs.  A common mistake is people training for size doing full deadlifts on their back day.  A full deadlift will use legs, glutes and back and a host of other muscles plus is drains your CNS.  A partial deadlift minimises leg and hip involvement, is far more specific to your back but is rarely used (this is probably ego lifting, a partial lift will be weaker and they don’t want to been seen lifting light).

It does not end there though, now we have YouTube!!!  So another classic example is cable rows, a quick demo (first 5 secs or so) from the film Pumping Iron

                               
I have lost count of the number of people who are either accidently or deliberately following this technique.  People frequently work the upper back, assisted by the lower back BUT this isn’t what is going on in this clip.  You either lock the lower back and just use the upper back, or if you are a body builder with 2-3 years gym experience you do what is happening in the clip.  You manoeuvre your lower back to allow maximum range of motion on your lats.  That is the only reason why you would increase the bend in your lower back as in the clip, and you would only do that using sub-maximal loads.  All the weight will be moved by your lats, not your lower back if done properly.  Look at the way Dorian Yates coaches a similar exercise, often done wrong using lower back, using the same logic:

                               
In short, be careful who you copy and follow all the advice and learning points in this thread.  Always ask:
Is this safe?
Is this specific to my goals?
Can I perform this exercise properly and consistently?

silent ninja

I row like he shows in the video. My cue in the seated row, and also DB rows, is to let the shoulders drop at the bottom. This stretches your rear delts too as well as giving a good lat stretch. When you are seated this means your lower back has to move back and forth in the video, but it's not actually doing any of the work. You actually have to explode/use a bit of body English, as they like to call it, to start the movement from the stretched position.

Dorian's form on everything is militant. He's good.

But yes as you say it's very hard to learn from just watching someone. You don't actually understand what they're doing. I'm glad he mentioned pullovers and lats because people still use them as a means to expand the chest and build serratus anterior  muscles.

Member 639844

I have a couple questions. I started on a bit of a get fit drive about six months ago. My aim was to lose weight so I could then put on some muscle and end up looking and feeling good. I changed my diet, and started exercising. Over the last six months my goals are slowly coming together but Im finding it hard to have any time for gym sessions. Instead, Im using dumbells in the home and I have a bar for doing chins ups etc. So, Im basically just doing anything I can do in the home. Im doing a range of dumbell exercises, pull ups, dips, push ups and some cardio stuff designed to work my abs etc.

Is it realistic to achieve a goal of becoming fitter and getting that bigger more ripped look by doing this alone. Im not rushing this, Ive taken it steady as this is more of a change of lifestyle for good than any sort of diet, but what sort of time scale is realistic to get in a really good shape that I would want to simply maintain.

Wardy257

How heavy do your dumbbells go? As long as you keep challenging your body it will keep,adapting.

Member 639844

They go to about 28 kg.

Wardy257

You can do a fair bit with 28 kg but sooner of later, especially your legs, you will max out and need further stimulation.  Train  body builder style, slow control reps 3 sets of 12 per movement/body part.

Wardy257

A good little article on training overload:

Training programmes – the key principle of overload - The Science of Sport

Wardy257

I thought I will do the whole 'a picture writes a thousand words' thing about Genetics.

Young Arnold



18 Year Old Arnold



Arnold in his prime



Yates After 12 months Training


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Yates in his prime

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Yates 10 year comparison