The biggest mistakes you’ll see in the gym

The following is a light hearted look at the 15 years I have spent in a gym environment. It is basically a look at some of the things that amuse me and also some of the mistakes that I see people making on a regular basis. I am sure that many people can relate to some of the following.

Beginners or skinny guys using the cable crossover machine: This machine should have a sign on it saying “please walk away unless you have some hard earned muscle”. This is by far the most over used machine in the gym; rather than wasting time on this they should be doing heavy presses and dips…

Training in groups of 4 or 5 people: Now unless you are doing heavy sets of squats , deadlifts or bench press and require 3-5 minute rest between sets then this is not the most productive situation….I have seen guys doing concentration curls in groups of 5 ????. …..this means they are getting 5 mins rest for bicep work. In general smaller muscle groups such as arms require less rest time than the larger compound movements such as squats, deadlifts etc…..if your arm workouts are taking an hour then it is time to question what the hell you are doing!

People who load up the leg press machine with every plate in the gym and then perform 2 inch leg presses – this is a favourite of mine as I see it all the time…..these are the guys who leg press 400kg but who can not even squat 100kg !!! If they dropped the weight and increased their range of movement they would see far more benefit. Or even better still… learn to squat !!

I want to get ripped so I am going to do loads of reps at a lighter weight – this is something that I am sure every person has heard some one say . Diet is the biggest factor when it comes to getting leaner. And If you are dieting why would you want to suddenly start lifting lighter weights when you are already eating less food. This is a time when you should be trying to hold onto the strength that you have spent a lot of time gaining….does performing an extra 5 reps suddenly burn loads of extra calories and get you leaner ??? NO.

Coming to the gym with absolutely no idea what they are going to do and also not recording the weights they lift – If you have no plan or structured programme then how can you expect to progress. I have heard the following many times “I am just doing bits and bobs today ….ill see how I feel “ . Only advanced lifters can come to the gym and decide what they are doing and what weights/rep range they are going to use by the way they feel when they get there. Not recording weights is probally the fastest way to pull a handbrake on your progress , if you can not remember what you lifted the previous week how can you add more weight the following week ????
The guy who thinks he can bench 40kg more than what he actually can – This usually results in the spotter performing bent over rows – usually these guys are easy to spot as their training partners have huge backs while they have small chests !!! When one of these guys asks you for a spot its time to run….

People who do bicep curls in a power rack – now this is a mistake because I am usually the guy who has to wait 20 minutes while some clown performs 20kg bicep curls . The power rack acts as their security blanket as they feel safe and don’t have to worry about picking up the huge weight they are about to lift!!!

The set wrecking spotter – this is the guy who as soon as the bar or dumbell speed slows by a millisecond he jumps into action faster than superman and hoists the weight up as fast as possible. A good spotter will apply minimal force and just enough to keep the weight moving or to just get through a sticking point in the movement.

People who try a different training programme every week and wonder why it does not work – One week it’s HIT training the next it’s volume training and then the week after its dog crap training.They wonder why each routine does not work when they do not give each one enough time to work. In general a routine should be followed for at least 8 weeks until it is changed for something else.

People who have not changed their routine in years – The definition of insanity is to expect different results from doing the same things that you have always done. Some people are also scared of changing their routine for fear of losing what they have gained. In fact changing your routine every 8-12 weeks is a positive thing as it increases motivation and prevents boredom setting in which can affect performance.

The more is better philosophy – These are the people who train 7 days a week for 2 hours a session. They have read the magazines showing how certain professionals train for hours a day , sometimes twice a day and they are huge so it must be the way to go. These people will normally do every exercise for every body part hitting the muscle from more angles than sense. If they cut their time in the gym by half and included some rest days they would see far greater results. The body can not grow if it does not recover !!!

Training in a hat in a warm gym – This is just something that makes me laugh….maybe it gives them special powers or maybe it’s a fashion thing ??? Hats are great in winter when you are outside but in summer in a sauna esque gym what does it offer apart from more sweat????

The guy who never takes off his lifting belt – Whether it’s a set of leg presses , lat pulldowns , bicep curls or even seated calf raises the belt of this owner stays where it is…..Almost as if it’s part of their uniform a sign that he is in fact a hardcore trainer. In reality wearing that belt is making their back weaker. Save the belt wearing for heavy squats and deadlifts when you actually need it . Utilising a belt properly during lifts will make you stronger and protect your back,wearing it for every exercise you do will make you weaker and make people wonder if it is welded to your waist !!!

People who don’t bother warming up – I see this all the time, a person will come in do 15 reps at a really light weight and then suddenly they are ready to lift their one rep max. This is a recipe for disaster as they will not lift as much weight as they would if they progressively warmed up using heavier weight each warm up set. Also the chance of injury is far greater as the body is not prepared to take the heavy load they are about to lift. An example of correct warming up for a bench press of 80kg would be : 5mins of light cardio and then some shoulder mobility work before starting the first warm up set – bar x 15 , warm up set 2 – 40kg x 6 , warm up 3 – 60kg x -3 , warm up 4 – 70kg x 1-2 , working set 1- 80kg.

People who try to lift heavier weights every single week …week after week – Trying to increase your weights is a positive thing but trying to lift heavier every single week will eventually lead to burn out as the central nervous system gets overloaded too much. Eventually the person will actually get weaker if they continue doing this. This is why powerlifters work in training cycles of 3-4 weeks , they will increase weights for 3 weeks and then back off for 1 week before starting the process again. This prevents the central nervous system from affecting performance and also keeps the lifter mentally fresh.

People who play a sport such as rugby or football and train as if they are a bodybuilder – It is amazing how many people who train for a certain sport actually train as if they are a bodybuilder . Split routines work well for bodybuilders but for athletes/sports players these routines are not as effective. Athletes should train to increase maximal strength and power so that the strength they gain in the gym can be translated into speed/power on the pitch/playing arena. Using bodybuilding techniques can be used to increase an athletes muscle mass but it should not be the only method used otherwise they will get bigger but slower!!!

People who want to lose body fat and tone up so they do hours and hours of cardio and no weight training – This is something that I see and hear a lot of . People waste hours doing cardio when they could and should be doing resistance work . Cardio training will improve fitness and burn calories but resistance work will increase lean muscle which in turn will increase a person’s metabolism meaning that they are burning calories more efficiently even at rest. A good example of how resistance work can lead to low body fat levels is an 100 metre runner . They will generally run no further than 300 meters but they have incredibly low body fat levels despite their lack of cardio training. Their weight training has a big hand in this , look at an aerobics class in any gym and see how many people you can see with very low body fat levels !!!

The grunters and dumbbell droppers – I am pretty sure every gym has at least one of these. These are the guys you hear before you see them…..Loud pitched grunts add the effect to show that the weight they are lifting is indeed massive. Once they have you attention with the grunting they then turn it up a notch by dropping the dumbbell onto the floor despite their 4 spotters in attention. It’s funny how the biggest grunters and weight smashers are never the strongest guys in the gym!!!…..

People who only use resistance machines and who stay away from free weights – Many people avoid free weights because they enjoy the comfort and easy to use nature of machines. Unfortunately these people miss out on developing stabilizing muscles that are developed when using free weights. Balancing a weight makes the lift harder but so much more productive.Also free weights allow the user to perform the lift through a more natural range of movement. On machines the bar path is straight up and down , this is not the natural way that you would lift and can cause injuries. Other problems that can arise from over use of machines is the problem of one arm/leg compensating for the weaker other side , dumbbells and unilateral work can help prevent this problem. Machines do have their uses as they can help to isolate muscles and in some cases of injury can actually help a person train a muscle without the pain they may experience with free weights. However they should not be used exclusively.

People who pay for a gym membership just to run or walk on a treadmill – I have nothing against people using the treadmill but paying £500 per year to just use a treadmill is in my opinion total madness….The great outdoors is totally free and you even get to pick where you walk or run !!!!