MISTAKES TO AVOID IN THE GYM

When you start going to the gym it can be overwhelming and sometimes you might skip the basics when you’re too eager to see progress. I have seen many beginners doing this mistakes in the gym and I was guilty of some of them myself. I wish someone has told me these things when I started so I really want to share these with you.

❌Skip your warm-up 

✅The appropriate thing to do once you enter the gym is start with a 10 min cardio warm-up followed by a 5 minutes dynamic stretching session. This will prepare your body for the actual workout and will have a direct impact on your progress and it will prevent injury. Do not underestimate the importance of your warm-up, it is NOT a waste of time, it is actually a big helper for your body.

❌Do cardio then weights

✅You should always do your cardio at the end of your weights session, not before. The main reason for doing that is that when you do cardio you’re using a lot of energy thus if you do your wrights session right after, you won’t be able to perform at your max and you’ll be already tired. Multiple studies have shown that in terms of performance, you’ll manage to lift heavier and perform better if you don’t do any cardio before your weights training.

❌Do not pay attention to the exercise order

✅Start with the difficult exercises first, such as compound moves (squats, deadlifts), and end with the easy ones, such as isolations moves (biceps curls, shoulder press). This will ensure you make the most of your workout and perform at your best. If you do your compound movements in the end, your body will get fatigued and you won’t be able to put in the same amount of energy when you lift.

❌Take too short breaks

✅Although this is debatable (some trainers say that 30 seconds is enough) I personally think that a 1-minute break between sets (10-12 reps range) is the appropriate rest time. I have also noticed from personal experience that longer breaks allow your body to perform better and lift heavier sets.

❌Do more than 10 sets/ muscle group/workout 

✅Most studies have shown that doing more than 10 sets per muscle group per workout can actually decline your progress, thus I strongly recommend you to stick to a maximum of 10 sets. Being too eager to progress and overdoing things will actually prevent you from achieving your goal in the gym.

❌Do the same exercise routine over and over again

✅You should change your exercising routine every 4-6 weeks in order to keep seeing progress. I sometimes see people in the gym doing the exact same exercises over and over again for months. Your body’s adaptability to training will make your progress stall so you need to change the exercises, the workout structure and even changing the timing will help you keep up with your goals.