You’ve got to start somewhere – Read this article to make sure you get a smooth start in the gym. Rookies should keep an eye out for these beginner workout mistakes and avoid them at all cost.
Not Training Legs
People skip legs day because it’s hard.
Too bad for them because only suckers skip leg day.
If they only knew…
Training legs is the best way to get and stay in shape. Legs are your largest muscle group and those muscles burn a lot of calories.
Train your lower half as often as you can for the best results.
(Related: The Best Damn Leg Workout)
Working out with Weights Too Soon
A beginner should have a handle on the basic bodyweight exercises before touching the weights.
Push ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges and dips are necessary to learn body control.
Bodyweight exercises get your body and mind ready for the weights by building a foundation of muscle and strength.
Spend some time building coordination and muscle-memory with a simple bodyweight training routine. Having experience with bodyweight exercises will benefit you big time when you pick up the weights.
Lack of Knowledge of Nutrition
I was especially guilty of this sin when I first started training. I barely ate, and when I did eat I ate like crap.
Therefore, I barely grew and most of my training effort went to waste.
Luckily I wised up eventually and I’m here to tell you to eat well from the start.
Eat your meat and vegetables and eggs. And eat plenty of them. You need to eat enough calories in order to grow. Eat meat and a green vegetable with every meal.
Not Following a Plan
A good plan starts with a goal (your desired end-state), and roadmap to reach that goal.
If your goal is to get stronger you need to train in a way that makes you stronger.
If you want to get leaner then you need to train in a way that makes you leaner.
A plan is more than a general idea.
“Oh I’ll just see what happens.” isn’t a plan.
A plan needs to be written down. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but you need to have a plan and get started. You can adjust things along the way. Without a plan you’ll waste precious time and energy.
Not Tracking Progress
Most guys start training all willy-nilly. Keep a journal with your workouts and nutrition activity.
Write down everything to do with your training and nutrition. (every exercise, number of sets and reps, rest time between sets, weight used each set, and anything you notice while training.)
You need to know what you did yesterday so you can learn from it and make the most of today. This data is invaluable when it’s time to make adjustments and to learn how you respond to certain training routines.
Write down everything you eat (what you ate and how much you ate).
Changing Too Much at Once
Only change one variable at a time. Then see how your body responds.
How can you know what’s working (or not working) if you change too many things at once? It’s impossible to know. So, take your time and be mindful of changes you make to your training routine.
Give yourself the opportunity to understand the cause and effect of tweaks to your routine. It will pay off. As long as you are patient.
Too Impatient
I know how you feel – I want what I want and I want it yesterday.
Building great things takes time. Change takes time. You can’t rush nature. Transformation is a process and that’s just a fact.
You need to be patient. Impatient people rush, expect too much too soon and burn themselves out.
All you need to do is put in the work and critical thinking. Then just relax (but don’t be lazy), trust the process, and, more importantly, trust yourself to IMPROVE the process when it’s not working.
If you never give up you will succeed eventually.
Lack of Visualization
Visualization is a power tool. It’s a faculty gifted only to human beings (that we know of) and it is the reason we enjoy all the world has to offer. People can see things that don’t yet exist, and can bring those things into reality just by using the power of their mind.
Everything you know and love started as a thought in someone’s mind. The phone in your hand, the computer on your desk, and the chair you’re sitting on all started as an idea in someone’s mind.
Pretty cool.
You can use the power of visualization to help you get where you want to be faster.
Here’s how:
Image you already have the body you want.
The clearer the image and the longer you hold it in your mind the sooner you’ll get it.
There you have it. Avoid these rookie mistakes and you’ll rise head and shoulders above the rest.
But don’t just take my word for it. Try it out and see for yourself.
That’s all for now.
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