Top 10 Gym MISTAKES!! | Gym Fails! | Don't Do These Things in The Gym!!
Walk into any gym in the world and I can guarantee you will see people doing one of these, my Top 10 Gym Mistakes! They are all very common and can easily be done, some are things and concepts that I have done myself until I learnt otherwise! So, hopefully you can learn from my mistakes and this post can help improve your workouts as you avoid doing any of these Gym Fails!!
1) Doing 100 Sit-Ups a Day to get a 6-pack- This is definitely a concept that
was ingrained into my head in the early days of my gym life. Most people like me when they first start going to the gym have a goal of getting those washboard abs we see on the front of every fitness magazine. There are two reasons why this is a huge mistake, firstly because actually doing ‘Sit-ups’ works the hip flexors and leg muscles just as much as the abdominals and so it doesn’t actually isolate and work the abs all that much. Secondly, no matter how many crunches or any other abdominal exercise you did, you wouldn’t be able to see the abs until your body fat percentage is low enough. You could have the biggest, hardest abs in world, but if your body fat is above around 12% then they will be completely covered up and you simply won’t be able to see them! This is something that a lot of people don’t realise. If you want to learn more on the truth behind achieving a six-pack I will be posting a blog about it soon!
2) Doing Core Exercises to Burn Belly Fat- This one leads on perfectly from the first point. It is a common assumption, that by working the abs and core, this will in turn burn fat from that area and so many people do crunches and planks for hours every week with the goal of burning belly fat. This is completely wrong. Whilst doing those exercises will strengthen and therefore grow your abdominal muscles, and contribute towards burning fat, the fat won’t specifically come from the stomach area. This is because your body when burning fat can take it from anywhere in the body, as such it won’t spot reduce and take the fat from a specific area. This attitude then is actually inefficient at burning stomach fat as core exercises will burn fewer calories than other exercises and cardio especially High Intense Cardio, which therefore would be much more effective at burning calories and thus burning fat.
3) Don’t Just Work On What You See In The Mirror! This is a mistake that I know that I made early on in my time of going to the gym and I know many of my friends who also have done the same (cough cough Drew)! And that is you work on the muscles which you can see when you look at yourself in the mirror, with your top off. This obviously being your Chest, Abs, Shoulders and Arms. Completely neglecting your Back, Rear Delts and Legs. Whilst by focusing on those muscles, you most certainly will add size to those muscles you will build an unbalanced, unnatural looking physique that no one wants. Not only that but you’ll probably struggle with back problems due to constantly working the front of your core (Abs) and nothing else. You need to make sure then that you have a well-balanced training routine that works on every muscle group, so that you can build an athletic, balanced physique!
4) Focusing Too Much on Isolation movements instead of Compound! Many of us when we first start going to the gym to build muscle do
the first exercise that we can think of that is synonymous with magazine covers everywhere and that tends to be the good old Bicep Curl! This seems to carry across to other body parts and people tend to have a training routine that consists largely of these isolation movements which focus on one specific muscle. Research however shows that by working more than one muscle in an exercise (a Compound movement) is far more effective for building muscle. Not only that but they allow you lift heavier weights and allow you to burn more calories. It seems such a waste for me then when I see people not bothering to hit those compound movements like Bench Press, Squats, Deadlifts, Pull Ups as they are fundamental to muscle growth and also to strength gains. So give up the Bicep Curls and Get doing Heavy Pull Ups!
5) Lifting Too Light! I quite often see people in the gym that I can just tell aren't pushing hard enough, aren't going heavy enough. You can easily spot these people as they are usually sat there at a bench looking disinterested and have hardly broke sweat. If this is you then WAKE UP! Get yourself motivated push yourself harder lift heavier and smash that workout! But don't go unnecessarily heavy though which leads onto number 6...
6) Lifting Too Heavy! Now we move on to the very opposite issue. Ego lifting. You see this in every single gym in the country you can guarantee it. Typically men, trying to look big and strong by lifting the heaviest weight they can find, accompanied by the loudest grunt, all with the goal of proving their masculinity to the world. Well, in reality you aren’t going to build much muscle lifting this way, and you also don’t look too cool either! When you lift heavier than you can really cope with, your form is sacrificed and you end up just swinging the weight, using momentum to move the weight and ultimately reduce the stress placed on the muscle. This leads to a far less productive workout as the muscle simply aren’t being worked, also increasing risk of injury. It is much better then to drop the weight slightly and focus on form and contraction of the muscle. This will cause far more of the microfiber tears in the muscle, which get rebuilt that create muscle growth. So do yourself and everyone else in the gym a favour lads, quit the grunting, and focus on the contraction and proper form!
7) Improper Form! Having allured to this in the previous point, it is obvious that form is a highly important component of your gym arsenal. It not only ensures that you are working your muscles in the proper way, but it also prevents injury and if you’re injured then you can’t be making gains! It’s painful to watch when you’re in the gym and you see someone working out and they clearly have no idea. A common one I see is people dead lifting with a concaved spine. This puts a horrible strain on your back and doesn’t even activate the muscle of the lower back which you should be working. This could easily lead to a horrible injury that would keep you out of the gym for maybe months. Proper form then is essential, not just for growth, but also for your health!
8) Not Enough Variation in Workouts! So many people that I know personally do the exact same things over on and over in the gym. The same split with the same exercises and same rep ranges. This will not only get incredibly boring over time but you are also reducing your gains. The human body is incredibly good at adapting to a strain that you place on it. So if you are just repeating the same workouts then your body will have already adapted to it and therefore won’t need to adapt again (muscle and strength growth). So your results in the gym completely plateau. This is why in the plans that I provide, I always switch things up, varying rep ranges, exercises and splits. This variation ensures that the body never gets chance to settle and so is constantly having to adapt and grow new muscle tissue to cope with provide these adaptations. Remember then to keep your body guessing!
9) GET OFF YOUR PHONE! There is an awful pandemic spreading across
gyms nowadays... People’s phones appear to be glued to their hands! Nothing annoys me more than when I see someone sat at the bench on their phone for 5-10 minutes in between sets. This not only causes you to lose focus and concentration, but also causes your heart rate to fall right down, blood flow to decrease and muscles to relax. So do yourself a favour and leave the texting and instagram until after your workout and get the job done!... One thing you can use your phone though is music, everyone needs a good gym soundtrack!
10) Simply Not Working Hard Enough! Definitely the most common error many people make in the gym is that they just aren’t working hard enough! The saying ‘No pain no gain’ really applies to fitness and gym. You’re body doesn’t want to lose fat, it doesn’t want to build muscle. To make it do so you really have to force it. The only real way to do this is by hard work, pushing your body to its limits, this is what will force your body to adapt and change. So those people who go to the gym do a few light bicep curls and expect their body to change are very much wrong and stand no chance of achieving their goals. In the gym it really is effort in equals’ results, it’s as simple as that!
There you go then my Top 10 Gym Mistakes that you see everyday in the gym! Make sure you aren't doing any of those to make sure you are focused and are heading in the right direction towards your goals! If you need any training advice or plans we'd love to help you! Either email us at evolvemusclefitness@gmail.com or subscribe to our website to receive our Free Training Plan!
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