Common Gym Mistakes and Simple Solutions to them

Wardy257

23. I’m Doing this to Hit my Dodackorumus

I hear so much [email protected] from people claiming some whacky exercise is to hit a certain muscle it staggers belief.  Not one of these people display any knowledge of what each muscle is or where it goes from/to.  A top, top, tip is to learn the muscles, where they originate and where they attach too AND whether the flex, extend, rotate the limb etc.

Learning the muscles is not easy so just learn them bit by bit, muscle by muscle.  I am lucky that I have my manuals but I also use 2 Ipad apps from Real Bodyworks:

Real Bodywork apps

I’m not claiming they are the best, but they are worth the small price to me.

Once you start learning about the muscles you will realise a lot of exercises are pointless.  If, for example, a muscle is fully contracted there is little point in moving a limb further as you will achieve no extra tension.  You will also realise that a fair number of exercises fail to work the muscle through the full range of motion, but with some minor changes they will maximising results.

Also, some muscles work differently depending if, for example, you are seated or standing such as the hamstrings and calves which can be significant.

24.  Gravity Does not exist in the Gym.

Now that you know the muscles you need to use gravity (in most cases) to work them.  It does not matter what range of motion a muscle operates in, unless your provide a force opposite it you are not working the muscle!!!

A common mistake is people near enough standing upright to do rear delts.  Yes the rear delts will move the arms backwards but if there is no force acting against them they are doing nothing.

It is not always possible to get gravity working exactly against the motion but you should try to get close taking into account that our limbs often move in an arc.

Wardy257

25. Training Variables.


There are loads of training variables but most people rarely try more than just a change in reps or incline/decline.  Here is a quick list, there are more.  Please ask if you need explanations:

Volume

Reps

Sets

Rest

Speed

Cadence

Load

Type of weight (barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell etc)

Handle(s)

Machine(s)

Incline/Decline

Isolation

Full Body

Dynamic

Isometric

Vibration

Pause reps

Boozehound

This is a fantastic thread chaps.  Good work Wardy.

One thing I always struggle with and I'm struggling with just now is sleeep.  When I don't train for a bit I'm fine but when I'm training hard (like just now) I can't sleep well at all.  I can get to sleep ok but it always ends up very broken and restless - no idea why.  This happens whether I train at 6am or 8pm.

Wardy257

Could be lots of things but I would make sure you optimise your recovery.  Do you:

Cool Down?
Stretch?
Eat post workout? If so what?
Get enough calories?

Wardy257

26. Not Making it Fun


Training can get boring for even the most dedicated sportsmen/women so it can definitely get boring for us mere mortals.  There are loads of ways of putting some fun back into training which 99% of people do not even bother with.  Examples:

Competition – Make your workout or an element of your workout out a competition such as performing as many squats as you can in 90 seconds.  Compete with yourself or a training partner.

Incentivise – Rather than just doing 15 mins on a rower, then 10 mins on the stairclimber set yourself a time number and max time limit on the rower (the easier exercise).  Lets say 3000 and 10 mins.  So now you have to row as many meters as you can in 10 mins, whatever your row in metres wil be removed from 3000 and that is how many steps you have to do on the stairclimber.  So if I rowed 2000 meters in 10 mins then I would only have to do 1000 steps.

Teamwork – Do something as a team, you work/train harder when it helps others.  A great example is here:

vishvx

great post, thanks!
Will definitely be implementing some of the tips in to my routine!

reiteration

I agree on the fun part - as when I was doing sat morning bootcamp - the trainer would often make us into team and compete against each other...that certainly brought the best out of most of us, and we were running on full intensity for almost the full session...

silent ninja

I train alone which can sometimes become a bit...uneventful? Lol I actually don't know what "boring" means. I'm an introvert and have never got bored at any point in my life as far as I remember. But anyway, time in the gym alone is like quality time with yourself. I enjoy it for the most part.

I'd love a gym partner but nobody I know lifts the way I do (totally different routines; they do bro splits) and the other major factor is timetabling it all. Too much hassle! The competition element would be awesome

Boozehound

I tend to spend that quality time on the internet....

sniffer66

Forearm exercises should be part of a decent routine