Top 12 Gym mistakes

Here are the Top 12 mistakes I consistently see in the gyms I work at. It was supposed to be a list of 10, but I just got back from the gym and was reminded of a couple more errors. If you have any questions, comments or arguments, let me know.

12. Circus Exercises

This is CRAZY!!

--- Arm curls are good and squats are good…but doing arm curls while squatting on a Bosu ball makes little sense unless you’re planning on joining Cirque Du Soleil. I am not against some balance work. But it should be a small part of your workout unless you have a specific balance deficiency (you’re elderly or are returning from injury). Time in the gym should be spent building muscle and it’s hard to build muscle if you’re on an unstable surface all the time.



11. Improper exercise order

--- Unless you’re a professional bodybuilder, do compound movements before isolation movements. That means, do not do arm curls for your biceps before or during a set of pull-ups or pulldowns. Likewise don’t do tricep extensions before or during bench press sets. You don’t want to fatigue the small muscles before you work the larger muscle groups that rely on those smaller muscles (you can’t do pull-ups if your bicep is tired). Do your compound (big) movements first and then finish your workout with isolation movements. More advanced trainers can rearrange this order sometimes.



10. Alternating repetitions


--- Doing an arm curl with your left arm, then your right arm, alternating back and forth. You’re wasting time and giving the muscle too much rest between repetitions.



9. Too much time in the gym

--- If you can’t get a great workout in in 45-minutes to an hour you’re talking too much or not working hard enough. It's better to workout a little less than optimal instead of more than optimal. Workout hard and then be done. Get out of the gym.



8. Comparing yourself to someone else

--- A little competitive fire is good. Trying to lift more weight than you should in order to keep up with Mr. or Ms. Jones is ridiculous. Worry about 1 person at the gym…yourself



7. Excessive Talking

--- A little “how’s it going?” is ok, but keep it to a minimum. You want to talk? That’s why God created Starbuck’s



6. Not getting advice
Don't get advice from these guys

--- If your gym has a personal trainer ask him/her questions. If there are some very fit people who workout when you workout introduce yourself (before or after workout) and pick their brains for input. You don’t have to necessarily do everything they tell you to do, but you may get some useful information that may help you reach your goals.



5. Endless cardio for fat loss

--- There are much more productive ways to spend your time if fat loss is your goal. If you’re jogging an hour or so a day but don’t have time to prepare healthy meals, eat a balanced breakfast, eat every 3 hours, etc. then you’re really wasting your time. For fat loss, food is the most important piece…exercise merely helps. (NOTE: I’m not ripping on joggers. If you love jogging, great. Just realize the reasons you’re doing it).

4. P90x exercises at the gym

--- I think P90x is great for people who don’t belong to a gym and have an hour to workout everyday. But if you belong to a gym use the equipment at the gym. If I see one more guy doing squats with 25lb dumbbells instead of 200lb barbell squats in the squat rack my head is going to explode.

3. Neglecting muscles that we can’t see in a mirror

--- Guys are very guilty of this. They tend to spend a lot of time on chest, biceps and abs. But their backs are nonexistent and their butts are so flat I have no idea how their pants stay up. A fit back, round glutes and shapely hamstrings are signs that the person knows how to workout. If you want people to say “I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave” then work the muscles on the back of your body.

2. Being wimpy



--- If you’re not going to work hard, then go home. Seriously. There’s no benefit to coming to the gym and just going through the motions. Put on Metallica or Beyonce or Barry Manilow and get motivated!! Get out of the Smith Machine and use the squat rack. Do some sprints instead of just jogging. Try pull-ups instead of pulldowns, etc. Women should workout just as hard as men do. I make no distinction between males and females. All of my strongest clients are women (and no they don't have huge muscles).



1. Stretching before warm-up

--- Without question this is the biggest mistake I see. Everyday a few people walk in, grab a post then pull their lower leg up behind them to stretch their quad. No warm-up, just grab the leg and pull. That makes no sense and could easily lead to injury. If you’re going to stretch, always warm-up beforehand. Get on an elliptical machine for 5-10 minutes or jog a few laps first.