26 Aug Lifting Weights And Wondering Why You Are Still Looking The Same?

7 Common Mistakes When Picking Up Weight Training.

1. You don’t have a clear goal: No matter what you want to accomplish you have to have a clear goal. You might want to lose body fat, gain lean muscle mass, or improve strength & power. You have to decide on what you want to accomplish. Not all goals are mutually exclusive but they also may not be optimal together. Your training needs to be clearly structured based on your goals!
   

   Strain without Gain?

2. You have Workout ADHD. You are changing everything every time, you see a new exercise you will incorporate it, you do 60 push ups and then decide to train power the next day. You change everything, every time. You don’t give your body enough time to improve at something. Stick with a program for 6-8 weeks before you change it and you will be surprised by the results.
3. You are TOO resistant to change. You are the person who lifts the same weight, uses the same machine, the same routine, the same reps for months, years and decades. This person has the opposite problem of  #2. Your body has gotten so used to the training, it does not provide a stimulus for change anymore.
4. You think Progressive Overload has to do with a truck weigh in. In all seriousness, you need to actually try to lift more weight every time you train. It does not mean you will succeed, but at least try. If you are within 90% of your capacity you will still see improvements for a while but you need to try to push the limits up. I might just go up by 1-2 lbs. If I did that every week I would increase my weight pushed or pulled by 50-100 lbs a year. Obviously it is not possible every week, but the emphasis is on try!
5. You think FORM only applies to dancers. If someone watches you lift it should look like they could put it into a book or make an educational video of it (and not as a bad example). If you get hurt during lifting, you will have to take a break, unless you want to break. That break then will negate all the hard work you have done prior to your injury.
6. You think Nutrition is for Meatheads and Alternative Rabbit Food Eaters: Well, since you are literally what you eat, food matters. You don’t have to become a food nazi but having high quality foods provides you with the protein, carbs, fats and micronutrients you need in order to build quality muscle tissue, repair cell damage done during your training and let’s you progress. Get back to cooking your food yourself, by veggies, high quality meats, poultry, fish, fruits, etc and see the difference it can make. (You have to eat it too, don’t just buy it)
7. You think sleep and rest is for the weak. You have bought into the belief that it is almost womanly or manly if you sleep little, work a lot and pretend like it does not affect you. Rest and sleep let’s you get stronger after your hard workouts. It allows cell repair, hormones to reset, and your body to find a balance between anabolic and catabolic processes.

If you are struggling, or standing still in your training then look at those 7 factors above, and be honest about it. How much of it are you applying to yourself. Just one of those factors not lined up may hinder you from getting your new PR or inhibit your progress.

If you have any questions about your training, feel free to get in touch with me or one of my trainers, or leave a comment.

Have an inspiring day!

Michael