Going Gym: 10 Mistakes In The Gym That Keep You From Making Progress
It often happens that you don't see results despite all the effort and fatigue during training. What if we're making some mistakes? Here are 8 not-so-obvious mistakes that many make in the gym.
1. Not Planning and Not Knowing the Right Workout for Your Body
When you want to achieve a goal, having a plan is essential. It's not enough to go to the gym and expect results, you need to plan a workout based on your fitness goals and where you want to be in 6 months.
When developing a training plan, think about what's best for your somatotype. It is not enough to replicate the training of other individuals expecting to obtain the same results.
Each physique is different and responds differently to nutrition and exercise. For example, an endomorph's training regimen will be drastically different from that of an ectomorph and most individuals who have been successful in the fitness industry have gone through a long process of trying to find the best workout.
If you are a naturally thin ectomorph and it is difficult for you to gain muscle mass, then a diet rich in carbohydrates and fats, together with a training mainly with weights and with little cardio activity, will be better for building a lean and toned physique.
For those with an endomorphic physique (where it is difficult to lose fat), a low-carb, low-fat, high-protein diet, along with regular, high-intensity cardio training and weight training, will be better for the achievement of these objectives.
2. Too much, too fast and with little recovery
When it comes to training, if there is one thing I can say is that the routine can be addictive! If you are like me then not only are you a little impatient but you will have noticed that as you improve, "more" becomes better.
But that's not necessarily true! The body likes to stay in a regular state, which means that by stressing it, various metabolic and neurological changes take place and an adaptation occurs to keep you healthy and happy and to function normally.
Doing too much, too fast, and spending hours in the gym can negatively affect your metabolism and tell your body to hold onto nutrients and fat deposits to survive. Not only that, but doing too much can have a catabolic effect, and when the body runs out of fuel its only option is to use hard-earned muscle mass.
To see changes your body needs to recover properly, so rest days are essential, even if we would like to keep exercising every now and then! Rest allows your muscles to adapt and change, this not only means that you will see physical changes in the mirror, but you will also see and feel them during the performance.
3. Incorrect execution
It is no surprise that the incorrect exercise of training exercises is one of the most common mistakes in the gym. You may have planned your workout, but are you doing the exercises correctly? Training with incorrect execution can totally change the muscle group you are working on.
Deadlifts are a good example: if you lift the bar using your lower back too early, not pushing with your heels, and lifting with your glutes and hamstrings, you not only risk getting injured, but you will be working mainly on your upper body by not doing any work. owe the lower part. Another example is front shoulder raises: lifting the dumbbells too far forward will work the lats rather than the shoulders and delts.
Research to understand how to do the exercises correctly before hitting the gym. If you are still unsure about the correct execution, get someone at the gym to observe - it is better to be the person who asks for some assistance rather than the one who performs the exercises incorrectly or worse still the one who gets hurt.
4. Don't Stimulate Your Body Further
This often happens to me too. There is nothing better than knowing that you are good at something, whether it is lifting high loads on the leg press or running fast with ease. Being good at something can lead to exercising without stimulating the body more and more and that won't offer you any further changes.
The intensity of training is crucial for weight loss or building muscle, the body adjusts to the usual routine and if you only train the strongest muscle groups, you will not only limit overall progress, but neglecting the weak points will lead to imbalance. muscle and risk of injury.
Whether it's cardio or weight training, varying your workouts and constantly putting strain on your body is vital to achieving physical and mental changes. If you can't do pull-ups then don't avoid them! Work your lats and practice with an assisted pull-up machine.
If you can't run one kilometer then practice, start slowly and gradually increase your speed. Don't be afraid of what you can't do and look ridiculous by trying, train to get better and stronger, not just to look better.
5. Practice Only Isolation Exercises
If you are new to the world of fitness and are focusing on isolation exercises perhaps taking advantage of some machines in the gym, then this could be the reason why you are not seeing results.
By focusing on the isolation exercises you will be able to strengthen that particular muscle, but the muscle will not be stronger in the movements performed daily. For example, exercises that isolate muscle groups such as hamstrings and biceps are not movements that we perform on a daily basis.
Incorporate several exercises into your routine by including multi-joint exercises like squats and deadlifts, as they involve different muscle groups and will help you build muscle throughout your body.
6. Don't Lift Heavy Enough Loads
Sometimes one of the mistakes in the gym that keeps you from making progress is overdoing the loads. Many people fall victim to the usual "3 sets of 10-12 reps" routine. But as mentioned, your body gets used to the routine. If you want to see results you need to overload your muscles and fibers, and promote growth hormone production.
To do this you need to focus on both strength and endurance. This means alternating sets of 12 reps with low rep sets and high loads. Lifting bigger loads won't make you big and bulky but will promote muscle growth and fat loss.
When doing a full-body workout, combine sets of 10-12 reps and sets of 3-6 reps, with different movements and exercises. If you do exercises by splitting muscle groups, divide your training into a two-week program, one week focusing on endurance (3-4 sets of 10-15 reps) and the second on strength (4-10 sets of 3-6 reps). ) using heavier loads and with a slightly longer rest period.
7. Eating Too Much or Not Enough
This is one of the mistakes that is probably preventing you from seeing results. It's easy to think "I worked hard" and then treat yourself to a piece of cake. Don't get me wrong, the so-called "cheat meal" once a week is fine but a few extras here and there will weigh on your total calorie intake.
When it comes to cardio, don't pay attention to the calories shown on the display of the machine you are using, this is a particularly inaccurate method. If you want to keep track of calories burned, a better method is to use a heart rate monitor.
If you want to lose weight you have to be sure that you have a calorie deficit: it means burning more calories than those introduced. So make sure you accurately track the calories consumed throughout the day (making sure you eat enough to meet your basal metabolic rate! Otherwise your body will go into a catabolic state and go hungry) and don't overestimate the workout you do in the gym.
However, you must remember that not eating enough can also lead to not achieving the desired results in the gym. It is true, as we have said that reducing the calories consumed helps to lose weight, so it is not difficult to be led to believe the equation: less food = faster results. And from reducing portions to stay lighter, to starting to skip meals and eating a lot less than you should, it's a very, very short step… And that's totally wrong!
First of all, keep in mind that the balance is lying. It is obvious that if you eat a little the weight drops, but beware: "the WEIGHT drops", but the weight is relative, those that are lost quickly and in this way are mainly liquid. This is why there is an abyss between losing weight and losing weight. Our body needs calories and nutrients in order to function.
If the metabolism is blocked, it is because our body, given the scarcity of food, puts itself "in reserve" to defend itself, and in this way, not only as soon as we start eating again without absurd restrictions we will assimilate everything with interests, but it will also prevent us to see our body change despite all the efforts of training, because the slower the metabolism, the more fat is not burned, even if we train night and day without stopping.
Metabolism is a fantastic thing, without it we could not survive without eating, it saves our lives and protects us by keeping to itself, precisely: Our fat reserves. But since we are not on a desert island (I presume) we do not need to let ourselves starve, especially if our goals are to get a toned and healthy body, so we learn to respect our basal metabolism without putting our body under. unnecessary stress, and we consider all the risks involved in eating less than we should. Is it worth it? Only for a smaller number on the scale? The answer of course is no!
8. Stress and Fatigue
Being stressed and tired is a problem I fight hard against! When you are overworked and stressed, first of all you do not recover properly, as a result it will be difficult to notice physical changes and improvements.
Not only that, being overworked negatively affects the energy available for training, this means that despite being exhausted, the energy burned during training is not enough to make you progress to the maximum. Training and eating properly are only two parts of the equation, you also need to make sure you sleep well and for a minimum of 7 hours.
A lack of sleep and a busy lifestyle (and too much cardio activity such as running) also lead to an increase in cortisol levels. Cortisol proportionally affects insulin, this means a greater fluctuation in blood sugar levels and greater fat storage - especially in the abdominal area.
To reduce cortisol, first make sure you get enough sleep and eat more or supplement with magnesium, zinc and chromium. Other supplements that can help are Vitamin D as it increases serotonin levels in the body by positively affecting cortisol production.
9. Never take a break
One of the mistakes in the gym is never giving yourself a break. Working hard always seems like a great idea, but trust me… there's no reason to take the risk of overdoing it. If our body does not have enough time to recover and to rest, it finds itself in a constant state of "shock", with the conclusion that it constantly feels tired and irritable.
And this not only risks slowing down the results, but it could also lead you to want to give up, and consistency is another FUNDAMENTAL thing to get the desired results. This is why it is very important to divide your weekly exercises well, without overdoing it, dividing the various workouts into the different days of the week to create a healthy routine. And I recommend you never forget stretching, and of course .. The rest day!
10. Do only cardio
Despite what many people think, completing just cardio sessions will not help you achieve your desired goals. The basic reason is that resistance or weight training helps build lean muscle tissue to boost metabolism.
Furthermore, our body continues to burn fat even AFTER finishing a workout, which does not happen during cardio workouts. The main reason is the excess of oxygen consumption in our "post" workout.
I try to explain myself better: after a workout, our metabolism does not recover immediately, it needs a more or less long time (depending on the duration and intensity of our exercises) to return to the level of rest, and it is precisely in this period of time that our oxygen consumption increases from baseline at rest, so despite the fact that the workout is actually finished, our body is continuing to burn fat!
So while cardio is a great place to start achieving your goals of getting back in shape and a great way to increase your stamina, it alone isn't exactly the best way to tone healthily and get stronger. .
Especially considering that having more developed muscles is advantageous for many reasons, not only because they allow us to face more intense workouts, but also because they help us to have a greater expenditure of energy. And as I explained earlier: More energy expenditure = More oxygen consumption = More fat burned!
