Achilles' Tips: Five Common Training Mistakes

[achilles]

Hey all,

Often I've been a participant in this community looking to benefit from the experience and encouragement of others. But why should knowledge be a one way street? I share now an article that has been on my mind for awhile. I lay no claim to being the next Jay Cutler, but there is no doubt that I have made progress this year - whereas a fair chunk of the people also going to my gym seem to be going nowhere at all. I have wondered why this is - and after putting in time with the iron over a year now, I have concluded: they're not doing it right. What follows is a series of observations from my own experience; I'm not a qualified professional in these matters. Just some guy that put on four inches to his arms in the last 14 months :-)

Five Common Training Mistakes (For Bodybuilders)

1. Lack of Intensity - by this, I mean dawdling. Too much hanging around, staring at your own reflection or chatting to mates when you should be training - maximum growth is achieved by overloading the muscles. You want to give them time to recover enough for the next set so you don't have an accident, but not so long that they've forgotten what lifting heavy feels like. I observed in the gym this week a guy that did one set on the smith machine, then proceeded to hang out with his friends and slip into chatting mode; by the time he returned to do his second set, about ten minutes had passed, and I had already completed a full five sets with a minute rest between on the bench press. He did one more set; then for some unknown reason whipped out his mobile phone and leaned against the squat rack, idly texting. He returned for his third and final set some time later. An extreme example - but take it from me: take a stop-watch, and time yourself between sets for your rests. At least forty seconds, but no more than three minutes. Overload those muscles!
   
2. Lack of Focus - moving around the gym like a butterfly on crack. Unless you are a beginner or are trying to lose weight through circuit-training, trying to work your whole body in one session is unlikely to take you anywhere fast. The sight of a guy doing four sets on the lateral pulldowns, then four sets on the bench press, then a couple of dumbbell curls is a common one where I go. Muscles quickly adapt to the training process, and unless you're spending a considerable amount of time on a bodypart, expect it not to grow with any urgency. The biggest guys in my gym are the ones whose routines I see include doing the bench press, then dumbbell flys, then cable crossovers, and incline press one after the other. The small guys are the ones that can never decide what muscle they're trying to overload. Choose your focus and stick to it!
   
3. Lack of Weight - not going to your limit. Now, it takes a certain degree of common sense to know how heavy is just right, and how heavy is too heavy. You need to train to your limits - with a spotter if need be - but not so far to the limit that you end up giving yourself an accident. But you will get NOWHERE close to gaining size if you train with weights that are considerably lower than your limit. As all the pros will tell you, to get big you have to lift big. Some time ago I saw a young guy with a nice upper body on the seated calf raise - with just the one plate. No effort showing on his features whatsoever as he went through the motions of the machine like he was on his grandma's rocking chair. There's a reason why his legs resembled pencils, and that gave me a good clue why.
   
4. Improper Form - just lifting wrong. None of us are born knowing exactly how lifts are supposed to be performed, and if you don't seek out the proper way of doing things, it is most certainly to your detriment. Ideally, if you're doing an exercise for the first time, get a qualified trainer to show you how it should be done. There will be all sorts of things you haven't considered - the position of your feet, the posture of your spine, et cetera. Sometimes just changing things slightly can have a dramatic effect. For the first two months of my training, I trained at home with dumbbells and barbells, and I loved the barbell curl. I was so proud that I could curl over 100lb! My first day of signing up to a proper gym however, I was shown that I'd been doing it wrong by lifting my elbows, allowing the joints to take the stress off the biceps, undermining what it was I was trying to achieve. Then I started curling with my elbows locked by my side, and I was only lifting with 45lb - a lot less. But that month, even though I was curling less, I was paying attention to my form, and my arms grew practically another inch. Proper form pays off. I still see guys curling with my old 'bedroom' form all the time, sadly.
   
5. Protein Deficient - not getting the valuable matter of post-workout nutrition right. I'm always surprised by the number of people that finish their workout, get changed, and just jump straight into their cars. There's one important thing they're missing out on - hitting their bodies with a protein punch virtually the moment the workout is concluded. Now I'm not able to see their habits once they leave the gym, and it is within the realm of possibility that they go home and mix up a shake; but for many, I suspect not. And it really is important to get that post-workout nutrition in from the get-go. Awhile back I changed from having a protein shake after my workout, to drinking a different supplement in the immediate aftermath of training, having the protein about an hour later when there was room in my stomach. My gains in mass flatlined during those months, and I quickly learned how important my protein shakes actually were to my success. Take your protein shake with you - put down the weights, and drink it within 30 minutes of finishing. You'll be bigger for it, in the end!
   

So concludes the article. Its just the start of course, but I hope it proves useful for some folk!

- Achilles, December 2007

[Slevin]

Good Tips. I'd also like to add that in order for your body to process the protein at peak levels the other systems of your body need to be well nourshed as well. If you are deficient in other areas: Calcium, Potassium etc., it will effect the protein synthesis.

[Strmchaserboi]

I thank you for the post very much. Me and my workout partner have been hitting the gym for a bit but i feel we aren't seening the progress we should be. My chiropracter is a bodybuilder so I did know about drinking the protien shake as soon as your done. I will give a try the method of drinking it while at the gym. I do have another question concerning cardio. I was told that it is better to do it after the weights due to your heart rate is up and you achive a better fat burn. That is one thing that my and my partner are working on trying to get ride of is the body fat. Any advice in that department would be welcomed.

[nj.]

Good -- I'm on the right track then

I hate that I'm ill at the moment. I need to skip a work out!

[mmfan2]

I can second the advice with the protein shake. They're not cheap ($3.50 AUD a pop) but you're spending all that money, time and effort already, what's another $4?

[inflated]

Protein shakes can be fairly reasonable in price if you make it from powder and bring it in a shaker bottle. The pre-mixed shakes in a can are pricey but protein powders are fairly reasonable and they come in a variety of great flavors.

[abbraxis]

Thanks for that.

My biggest problem is I'm so obsessed with getting form right and not hurting myself that I'm afraid to actually lift heavier weights. I really have to concentrate on form and my friend commented that for a beginner, I actually have good form... but it's usually to my detrement. I'm afraid to lift heavy sometimes, but my friend is helping me. He tells me to do a bit more and he keeps an eye on my form and I make sure my joints don't hurt.

And I know I don't get enough protein. My friend and I are going to GNC when they have their gold club sale (he's a member) and we're gonna get something to help me here. I DO eat... just not cosistently. I might skip dinner or eat real late at night to compensate. I sometimes eat a big breakfast and don't get to lunch... or sometimes I eat 4 or 5 smaller meals throughout the day. Basically, I have no concistent diet.

So it looks like I need to work on numbers 3 and 5.

These tips worked for you, right? Then they should work for the rest of us. Thanks a bunch!

[inflated]

The best prices for protein bars, protein powders and other supplements is Bodybuilding.com and they are very prompt in filling orders.

Good form is really important, with the help of a spotter you should not be afraid to lift heavy weights.

[UKBeefy]

I think there are plenty of supplement suppliers too. I'd prefer it in this forum if we kept individual commercial endorsement type references to a minimum. Saying things are the best is quite a sweeping statement.

[13 of Spades]

Thanks for the diet advice, Achilles. I'm often confused about when I should be taking in protein. But I've got another question: how much protein should I be drinking in?

[abbraxis]

Originally Posted by 13 of Spades

Thanks for the diet advice, Achilles. I'm often confused about when I should be taking in protein. But I've got another question: how much protein should I be drinking in?

I heard everyone should be taking in at least 1g of protein for every pound of bodyweight. Most people don't do this.

If you just want to build muscle and am not training for a competiton or trying to get "huge", you're supposed to be taking in 1.5g for every pound of bodyweight.

If you want to get "huge" you want to get close to 2g.

A class mate of mine is a bodybuilder and we just did "speeches to inform" and nutrition was his. He is actually pretty good to listen to, plus, he's WIDE. I keep meaning to talk to him after class for more tips, but if I'm not in a hurry to get somewhere, he is.