WEEK SIXTEEN :: What Are The Top 3 Mistakes People Make When They Start Working Out? [Archive]

Ifrit

02-12-2005, 12:55 AM

I am a trainer <--- don't hold that against me lol, and it would be "FRIGGIN AWESOME" to be on the front page you have no idea, I will write for days to win this,lol. I sent in something before and never got a reply but I think I sent it to the wrong e-mail.

Beginners mistake #1 Frequency of training

I see it every day, people come in with a "I'm going to beat my muscles until they rip" attitude and decide early on they will workout six days a week and grow into this massive freak like they see in magazines in no time. What they don't realize is that they are not growing in the gym but rather at home, in the kitchen, and while they sleep. Muscle growth takes time and does not simply grow upon your demand. The average "Beginning" trainee can gain 15 pounds of muscle in one year if all things are in place. Beginners should be happy to hear that when you make the greatest strength gains from your current strength levels your muscles will grow at the greatest possible rate and you should take advantage of this by having a planned week in which you will hit each muscle group once a week and train the muscle groups in such a way that nothing is hit indirectly more than two times, such as hitting chest one day, shoulders the next, and triceps on the third. You wouldn't make a trip and not look at a map and just drive in one general direction so why should training be any different. More is not better in the iron game, it's consistency and progression in resistance.

Beginners mistake #2 Relying 100% on supplements

I take alot of supplements myself but that's because my training is in such a planned way that I can tell the strength gains and mental effects I get from things such as caffeine and creatine. Beginners rely on supplements as a crutch to their training and if a certain supplement doesn't work the first day they take it then they get easily frustrated and want to quit completely. It's fine to get all the popular supplements out there but you have to realize they are only going to work their best if you are training your best. Read about the supplements you buy and realize why you are getting the ones you are getting because if you are loading up on caffeine you are going to have a little harder time bulking. Read reviews on different supplements on Bodybuilding.com and share your experiences with the things your are trying and search for articles on how and when to take them. Some people just don't react to certain things as well as others and the only way to find out is to experiment. Take the supplements consistently and not just two days out of the week. I know I didn't respond much to creatine monohydrate but respond well to CEE (Creatine Ethyl Ester) and I know alot of jacked guys out there that love the stuff like I do.

Begginers mistake #3 Diet

I hate to be so cliche but diet is definately all beginners mistakes. Too many simple sugars, not enough protein, eating fast food you name it and 95% of beginners will do diets wrong. I think most people know what is bad food and what is good food but don't really understand how it effects the body in a positive or negative way. Having a soda with as much simple sugars as it has in it sends your insulin levels sky high and high insulin levels allow fat to be stored more easily. Saturated fats are high in the average persons diet and should be replaced with monounsaturated fats such as almonds. Protein is very important and without it the muscle tissue your are breaking down will not rebuild. You can eat good foods and still gain weight because no matter what kind of diet fad you may be following calories are the determining factor if you are going to maintain, gain, or lose weight. The more junk food you eat the more you are going to want because high insulin levels causedby the simple sugars in the junk you eat will cause you to be even hungrier. Find acceptible foods that you like and will stick with because not everyone likes the same foods. Always have a postworkout shake with high glycemic carbs to offset the catabolic hormone cortisol that is released directly after training. Make sure to have a cheat meal everyonce in a while but realize if you are traying to gain size just eating everything you see will get you big and fat. If you are concerned about money being an issue buy in bulk. Diet is 80% of the results you will get in the gym so the sooner you start watching it the better and what better time then the beginning of training.

I made everyone of these mistakes when I was 12 years old and in my dark basement working out by myself for hours and days upon days. I worked out 6 days a week for two hours and no certain rest in between sets or no set rep scheme or weight. I was confused as to what rep range was best and whether to go for the pump or lift heavy. I wanted to workout all the time and wanted to get big fast because getting made fun of for being skinny was getting old fast. My strength actually went down because I worked out too much and didn't understand I needed rest to grow. I wasted two years training like this and because I didn't have many friends no one told me I was doing wrong, there were so many magazines saying so many different things I had no idea what would work best. My diet was lunch at school which was maybe 500 calories a day and that was it. I had no energy for lack of carbs and was overtraining from lack of protein. The supplements I got were weird ones to say the least. I had some type of pill that a guy at a health food store told me to take because my bones were small and wouldn't allow me to gain any mass until I took it. I had a shake that tasted like melted butter and looked like it too. I stopped working out after those two years because I got no where. I got back into it when I was 21 and didn't change much at first because of the same reasons so I decided to read books, talk to people, and read websites such as Bodybuilding.com over and over. I started to understand how muscles react to training and how diet and supplementation are very important. I got certified by the I.S.S.A for personal training because I wanted to show people how to not be like me and waste time and do all of these wrong things. I am never done learning and make sure to leave my ego at the door when I go to the gym because you never know when someone can show you something or put a new prospective on things for you. If you are a beginner you really have the right to ask questions because you are just starting and most guys that have been working out will be flattered that your are asking there advice. If you put all of these pieces together it will make a huge difference and make the things you do in the gym well worth it.

Mr. Shoulders

02-12-2005, 05:58 AM

Overtraining...Under eating the good stuff...poor form...also, not enough quality zzzzz's

ravadongon

02-12-2005, 09:06 AM

WEEK SIXTEEN :: What Are The Top 3 Mistakes People Make When They Start Working Out?

By ravadongon

Everyone makes mistakes. It’s important that you pick these mistakes up as fast as possible and come up with solutions, instead of repeating them and expecting different results. The problem is most people are afraid of change. They’re afraid to get out of their comfort zone. This is an important thing to do in not just bodybuilding but also life. Anyway back to the topic, here are what I believe to be the top 3 mistakes when they start working out along with the ways people can correct these mistakes:

Mistake – No Strategic Plan In The Gym

This is easily the numero uno problemo with people new to lifting. These people turn up at the either any day they feel like or every day, and pretty much do whatever strikes their fancy, on whatever equipment available or simply do whatever exercises they have become comfortable with.

Correction – Have A Strategic Plan (DUH!)

It is a well known fact that successful people always have a plan. The process of planning includes assessment (where am I now?), goal setting (where do I want to go?), creating a plan or strategy (How will I get where I want to go?), executing the plan (what action steps must I take daily to reach my goal?), and measuring results (how will I know if I’m moving towards my goal and how will I know when I’ve reached it?). This can be done without any trouble by simply keeping your own journal, stating your measurements, fitness goals, everything you eat and all the work in the gym you do (including weights, sets and reps, and even comments on how you think the session went). You can even try starting one on the forums (http://forum.bodybuilding.com), which can help provide motivation so you can reach those goals.

Also learn to research, and use all available resources to you whether it be the internet or some recommended books. Always be looking to improve your strategies. http://www.bodybuilding.com is a great database of information as are the forums (http://forum.bodybuilding.com) where you can ask questions pertaining to things your having trouble with picking up or matters you are not sure about.

Mistake – Bad Eating Habits

Another big mistake new ‘gym-goers’ make. These people seem to think that by just working out in the gym they will gain muscle or lose body fat rapidly. They don’t pay attention to the things they eat, as they think it’s all magic in effect and their dream body will be achieved without any real change needed in their diets.

Correction – Make Yourself A Diet and Make Yourself Stick To It!

It doesn’t matter whether you are trying to put on the pounds (muscle), or are trying to remove the beer gut (fat), diet is the key to all success in the bodybuilding world. It’s important that you watch what types of food you eat, avoid all bad fats (saturated and trans fatty acid) and simple carbohydrates (excluding post workout, where simple sugars are good to have), eat foods rich in protein, complex carbohydrates and good sources of fat (e.g. monounsaturated fats, fish/flax seed oils, olive oil). And make sure you count your calories. If you are trying to get rid off bodyfat (cutting) make sure you are consuming 500 calories less than you burn during the day, and when you are trying to put on muscle (bulking) make sure you are consuming 500 calories more than you burn during the day.

Supplements will also help if you use them wisely and have a well structured diet to accompany them. Good supplements include: Whey Protein (for use post workout – bulking or cutting), Creatine (for use when bulking), Multivitamin (for overall health), EFAs (for overall health). All can be purchased from http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/index.html at good prices.

So make, sure you stick to good eating habits and I’m sure you’ll be amazed how much more gains you will produce compared to before.

Mistake - Focusing on Strengths, Favorite Exercises and body parts and Neglecting Weaknesses

This is by far the most noticeable mistake observed by more experienced lifters that new novice ‘gymmies.’ The type of people who make this mistake are those who you see training chest and biceps everyday. They’ll start the show with countless sets of flat bench, and then finally hit every variation of the bicep curl you can imagine, barbell, dumbbell, hammer curls, standing, sitting, incline… Then they’ll repeat the whole process the following day.

Correction – Training for Functional and Aesthetic Balance (Not Negelecting The Weaknesses)

All exercisers must train all groups of muscles for functional balance to prevent injury, maintain optimal function and range of movement in every joint and muscle group. Every plane of movement and angle of movement must be taken care of. Flexors must be balanced with extensors. Both push and pull type exercises must be included and balanced.

Compound exercises should make up the large majority of your exercises, while few isolation movements should be included. Prime movers, antagonists and stabilizers must all be strengthened. Weaknesses should be looked upon and steps should be immediately taken in order to bring these up to par.

My Experience

Mistakes I Made

For 4 months I wasted my time training. I didn’t eat properly, the exercises I actually did do in the gym were mostly on machinery and a large percentage were islolation, and all I was interested in was improving my favourite bodyparts, biceps and abs. I was not interested in improving my weaker bodyparts however I enlisted the help of a free trainer who showed me some equipment and wrote me up a quick and quite shabby program. For those 4 months I saw very little results and a lot of work for nothing.

How I Corrected Them

In July last year I had a break from school, so I decided it might be worth my while going on some websites and learning a bit more about some exercises I saw people doing in the gym, that I hadn’t been doing yet. I did a search on google and the first result that came up was at http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm. I had a good browse around the website and looked at some more exercises I had been doing and realized I was doing them wrong. At this point I realized I was probably doing a lot wrong so I continued looking through the databases looking at articles which went through the basics. I found it hard to accept the fact I was doing so much wrong, and it took some time for me to accept this and be able to change. When I went back to the gym I continued to do the same things I was doing before. I refused to accept some of the concepts people proposed on the forums, which I look back on being very good and valid advice. However, after a while I started to realize that maybe I should listen to what these people on the forums are telling me and do such and such, because these people have most likely been through what I was going through at that time and are really going out of there way to help me. So I took all advice on board and gradually made small changes. I improved my eating habits. I changed my split eventually, and included more compound exercises then before and made sure I learnt the proper form on good mass-building exercises that I hadn’t done before e.g. Deadlifts, Bent Over Rows, Lateral Raises. Slowly but surely I improved in all these facets and I reaped the benefits. I put on 20kg with very little fat gains in the space of 18 weeks, and added a good 2.5” to my arms and 5” to my legs.

Moral

The moral of the story is learn from your mistakes. The quicker you do it the better. Take advice from knowledgeable people, use all free sources of information wisely and well. Research methods in which you can improve the way you train, read up on topics that may help you do this, and I’m sure at the end of the day you will be a lot more pleased and satisfied with yourself and your own hard work for it.

References

For you critics in the "Article Review section," who don't like the fact that I don't label my sources, well for the record, I have no specific references, just everything I have learnt from:

http://www.bodybuilding.com
http://forum.bodybuilding.com

:D

cutlerfan

02-12-2005, 09:57 AM

There are lots to choose from but the top 3 I would have to say would be...
1. working only the vanity muscles
2. diet
3. more is better attitude

When I was younger I found myself working only the vanity muscles. I am now 25 years old and see kids doing the same thing. Chest, abs and biceps every day Monday through Friday. I realized this was a bad thing when I sprained my rotator cuff. My physical therapist asked me about my weight training because he noticed my shoulders slumped forward. I told him I did a lot of benching and he asked about back exercises and rear delt exercises. I looked at him like he was nuts! What did my back and rear delt muscles have anything to do with my shoulder pains? When you bench constantly and do little to no back or rear delt work your body gets imbalanced and muscles tend to strain or tear easier when not being worked. I was told to limit chest to once a week and add a full shoulder and a full back workout a week. As time went along my shoulders stopped slumping so much, I stood up straight and my shoulder stopped hurting. I now do as much back and shoulders as I do everything else.

Diet is another thing I found that beginners know little about. Young bodybuilders tend to think they can eat or drink anything they want because they believe they can easily burn it off. This is not the case. People tend to eat empty calories and do the quick and easy thing on the run. Late night snacking and weekend bingeing puts a damper on fat loss and quality muscle gain. I figured this out when I found it harder and harder to make weight for wrestling. I would starve myself a few days before the match and found I had no energy to compete. I found a happy medium. I ate well throughout the week and found I could cut weight easier and I stayed full. I ate several smaller meals throughout the day and limited myself to lean protein such as chicken, turkey, and shakes. I ate no carbohydrates past 5 pm and if I did then it was a high fiber vegetable such as cauliflower and brocolli. I exchanged Mountain Dew for a less caloric diet pop and eliminated chips and cookies. I found weight management a lot easier with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

A lot of people feel that more is better. Longer cardio burns more calories. The heaviest weight will give you bigger muscles and more sets of crunches will give you better abs. This I found to be untrue and very hurtful to the results and benefits of a sensible workout plan. Sure longer cardio burns more calories but it could also cause overtraining and burn muscle instead of fat. Of course, the heaviest weight will make you stronger, however the risk of injury is much higher. And that certainly isn't good. And crunches are great for abs but they are just like any other body part.... they need rest too! I found out that moderation is key because I went gung-ho in the weight room and put in 60 plus minutes of cardio a day and found myself dreading going to the gym. I found myself hurting and not wanting to go back because this or that was sore. I took a week off and just sat around finding myself wanting to workout again. After my break I came back and reduced everything to a reasonable session and felt great. I wanted to go back and I enjoyed going to the gym.

Although there are tons of mistakes people made and mistakes that I make that I haven't yet discovered I had cut them down to the 3 biggest and presented them to you. Go over your routine and decide if you are making the same mistakes that I had and make a change. The person who will benefit the most from this is you. Good luck!!

twinposedown

02-12-2005, 04:11 PM

Title: What are the top 3 mistakes people make when they start working out?

Do you remember when you first started working out and all the mistakes you made? Whether it was training, diet, supplements or just doing something that only a goof ball would do it is probably something that you remembered your whole life. In this article I will touch on the top 3 mistakes people make in the gym and for those just starting, hopefully provide you with some much needed information!

1: Training
- Day in Day out I see people performing endless sets of crunches in the vain hope of 'spot reducing', doing chest/biceps 3 times a week because more frequency means more gains (who the hell made this up anyway), doing full body routines for weeks and weeks thinking they are seeing results but are just plateuing from doing repetitive work. I bet all the readers of this article have been guilty of one of these, or are even guilty of them right now! I will discuss how to change these disastrous training philosophies! Here’s a handy checklist that can instantly improve the results you see and the benefits you reap!

(1) Do you keep track of your workouts? Keeping a journal is a must if you want to make progressive gains!
(2) Are you really pushing yourself? While full body routines are OK for beginners, after a few weeks you will need to get a split up that will allow you to hit body parts with more volume and intensity
(3) Are you a machine junkie? Machines do have their purpose, but free weight exercises are far superior in adding mass.
(4) Got compound movements? The bench, squat and dead lift are renowned for backing on slabs of mass
(5) Do you pre plan your workouts? Going to the gym without a plan is like heading into battle without a weapon! Your training will not be fluid and timed correctly to have a decent workout

2 - Diet
There are people at my gym who start out training so intense you would think if you plugged them into the electricity grid they could power an entire city! But do they see gains that would usually accompany hardcore workouts? NO! Poor diet is the main culprit in why many beginners (and even some intermediate and advanced lifters) do not see the gains they want. Here is some good ideas to make you more anabolic than you have ever been

(1) Do you get a sufficient amount of protein? 1.0-2g per pound of lean mass is a must for optimal results. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/goalprotein.htm has an excellent selection of high quality and affordable protein powders (Believe me I ship them from overseas and bbing.com are still the cheapest!)
(2) Carbohydrates. A bodybuilders best friend and worst enemy. Are your carbs coming from processed sugar filled sources or are they fibrous and healthy? If you're not getting your carbs from vegetables, oats, sweet potatoes and wholegrain sources then you are cheating yourself of gains
(3) Fats are good. Yes you read it right fats ARE good. There are different types of fat but not to worry I made this handy checklist for you to read.
Saturated Fats - Keep these under 10% of your daily fat intake and this does not mean get them from a cheeseburger.
Monounsaturated Fats - Ah the good stuff! Try have about 60-70% of your fats to be monounsaturated
Polyunsaturated Fats - The infamous Omega 3 and 6's. Try get about 30-40% of your fat intake as these. Also there are special rules to ingesting omega fats, namely to try get them in a ratio of 3:1, omega 3’s to 6's. Omega 3's provide a lot more benefits to health while omega 6's on their own can cause horrendous damage! A great source of polyunsaturated fats is flax oil and I then supplement with almonds throughout the day to bring my ratio down to 3:1.
(4) Water. 'Nuff said. Get plenty of it
(5) Post workout nutrition. This is the big baby here so make sure you nail this meal with the upmost efficiency. Have some high GI carbs and a protein shake straight afterwards and watch your gains skyrocket
(6) There is no way in the world a person can get all the vitamins they need every day without taking in gigantic amounts of sugar. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/vit.htm sells a wide variety of high quality vitamins that will keep your body running smooth as silk.

3 - Vanity
Most people don't realize how weak they are when they start going to the gym and again they don't want to admit that to themselves. Grabbing numerous 25's and starting off with quarter rep benches will only lead to minimal gains and a higher risk of injury. Make sure you go into the gym with your ego at the door, not walking beside you. Keep your form tight and your weights heavy but please do not fall into the trap of trying to impress people in the gym, more likely the experienced folk will think your a jackass for trying to curl 100 pounds with 13 inch arms. The main page on www.bodybuilding.com has excellent articles on training!

My Mistakes and How I corrected them.
When I first started lifting the mistakes I made were numerous. Bad training, Bad Diet and thought I was the king because I could bench 85 pounds. But after a few weeks of mediocre results and seeing fellow lifters making way more progress than me I decided to log into http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbmaintrain.htm and read all the training and nutrition articles they got. After applying the lessons I got from them to my training, diet and overall lifestyle my bodybuilding health was put into another dimension and I have yet to stop gaining. I hope this article helps all you beginners out there and remember you can always join the forums to ask a question!

bucsfan

02-12-2005, 04:43 PM

Many people make mistakes when they start weight lifting. I was one of these people for a long time. As you can imagine I didnt make any decent gains.
In my oppinion the top three mistakes I see in young and inexperienced lifters are.

1. Overtraining- Most inexperienced people think that the more exercises they do and the longer the time spent in the gym will yield good gains. They fail to realize that this training style will lead to overtraining which can have a negative impact on your body. You should stick to 3-4 main lifts for each bodypart. Another mistake I see is people doing bench press and curls every day. To grow your whole body you must train the whole body. Especially train legs because they release more testosterone than any other lift. So in other words training legs can help your chest and arms grow. Young lifters also tend to believe that you grow in the gym, when in reality you grow out of the gym while you are resting. Each lifter must find out what works for his or herself. What works for others wont always work for you.

2. Bad Form- I see many inexperienced lifters using weights that are way to heavy. On most lifts their spotter will tend to get a better workout than they do. A person needs to work on the form of their lift. If good form is not used it can lead to injury and will ellicite no muscle growth. You dont need to lift with your ego to get big. You use your muscles. So beginners should research the proper form for each lift, and should watch experienced people in the gym and see how they do exercises. Once you have good form down you can slowly increase the weight and concentrate on using your muscles to execute the lift.

3. Diet- I cannot begin to tell you how important diet is for making gains. Many beginners have no knowledge of a proper diet and proper nutrition. They will eat whatever they want whenever they want. Your muscles need protein to grow. Make sure you get enough protein. Also many beginners begin to wonder why they have only gained a couple of pounds over a series of months. They need to go back to the basics and count their calories and make sure their protein to carb to fat ratio us good. If one is not making gains you should up the calories you take in each day until you are seeing the results you desire.
Also many inexperienced lifters have no knowledge of pre and post workout nutrition, You must have a solid pre workout meal to fuel your training so you can lift to your potential. After a workout a person should consume a post workout meal consisted of carbs and protein to help replenish the body. You should take a whey protein shake mixed with water to speed up the absorption of the protein into the body. I usually try and get about 40 grams of protein in my post workout meal.

I feel that these are the three biggest mistakes that young and inexperienced lifters make.

Rock_hard

02-12-2005, 06:42 PM

number one: lifting too heavy and having poor form
number two: not having a damn clue what the hell they're doing
number three: not having a proper diet.

oliftsrule

02-12-2005, 10:30 PM

Everybody makes mistakes. Mistakes are human, and they are necessary in life. Everyone knows that we learn best from our mistakes. The unfortunate thing is that in the world of fitness, many people don’t KNOW they are committing errors. These are in my opinion the three biggest mistakes, and at the same time, those from which we can learn the most.

Mistake #1: “I can lose/gain XYZ lbs in no time! Just need to exercise!”

My answer to every post-holiday bulge fighters…
PATIENCE PEOPLE! In a world where time is money, we have to learn the limits of such a manner of thought! First of all, what you are going for might not even be physically possible, even when packed on steroids, ephedra and the lot. Advice numero uno from about 99% of people in this industry with the least bit of credentials will tell you that the keys to fitness (should that be bodybuilding, powerlifting, athletic goals or simply losing weight) is PATIENCE and CONSISTENCY (more on the latter later). You can’t go to the local YMCA, put in 20 minutes of cardio per day and within a week lose that nasty fat. It just doesn’t work like that.

So what can we do to help these people? I guess the best would be simply to educate them in the realms of the possible. They must know to not expect sudden changes in their physiology, or else they will simply lose self-confidence when they realize the pounds are still (not) there. Another thing might be to keep a training log. This way they can monitor, lessay, weight at the end of the week. If they eat right, train well, then they will see some results eventually. Combine this with realistic goals (lose 2 lbs in 2 weeks) and keeping it up, and eventually, you will attain your goal. Which leads me to…

Mistake #2: Consistency

This is for the impulse-driven subscribers…
Training once every 2 weeks sporadically will lead you nowhere. In this game, you must, at the BARE minimum, train three times a week (twice maybe if you’re in it for simple fitness only). Even if you go “balls to the walls” for a whole week on “Ronnie Coleman’s gut busting super muscle destroyer from Hell” and then stop for two weeks, it won’t compare with a solid, homemade training regiment done religiously.

How to cure this is somewhat difficult. People tend to not like having their way of life changed, but the fact is that you have to make working out a basic part of your day, everyday, just like going to work or showing up at school. Once that is done, going to the gym becomes natural, routine. If this is just too much to ask from you, you can always use this somewhat expensive manner of making sure you go to the gym when due: hire a personal trainer, and set some dates. You now have someone waiting for you, you can’t let him down, can you?

Mistake #3: The mother of almost everything that can go wrong with training

Lack of knowledge is a bitch. She makes everyone believe that doing thousands of crunches on the “Ab-o-tron” will transform you from Lardo to Miss America. She compels people into buying masochistic muscle shockers. A waste of batteries, I say.
This is the root to about everything. Poor form, partial ROM, ill chosen exercises, spot reducing, the thought that weights will transform a women into this she-man mass of muscle, the thought that small weights simply cannot be of use to Mr. Macho Man, you name it. The list keeps on going on and on. It’s unfortunate, really, since almost everyone has the potential to become what they aspire to (within the realistic, of course), but any of those elements could ruin it.

To correct this is easy, read up! But get good sources. I personally don’t believe that bodybuilding magazines are too good at this, what with the continuous promises of bigger this and more shredded that in 3 weeks. Search for the more popular writers of bodybuilding.com, I’ve gotten most of my education through this site.

Of course there are plenty of other mistakes, possibly just as bad as these. Lack of sleep, bad nutrition, poor training regiment, overemphasis on certain muscles, lack of recuperation time, and it goes on for a while. But I think that the beginner, who's stepped in a gym for the first time recently, will most likely suffer from the above three, and these are the mistakes you can't compensate.
-----------------
Personally, I’ve gone through some pretty dumb ones. Inconsistency, impatience and especially ego were my worst nemesis. Luckily, some harsh writing authors of training articles showed me that what I was doing was downright wrong. I didn’t gain weight, my strength barely moved, I was making form a dream, and halved my ROM only to get 10 lbs more on a certain lift. I’ve always been a competitive person, so I’ve done a mistake, I MUST, repeat MUST do it right this time, and then some. It’s even gotten me into going into Exercise Science, since I want to help people reach their goals without having to go learn from experience. Right now I have to straighten out my nutrition a little bit, and this too is learnt from experience.

Body_Builder

02-12-2005, 10:30 PM

I am not going to write a long post or anything therefor I do not expect to win but I would say: 1.Using ph's 2.Diet 3.Form/Overtraining

beerman_420

02-13-2005, 01:42 AM

1) People think they know everything and have no clue how much nutrition comes into play of having a good body

2) They think they can lift weights for 8 hours everyday and will be the next ronnie coleman...doesnt work that way

3) not sleeping enough, most dont realize muscles grow when your in bed sleeping

*Di3gO

02-13-2005, 06:11 AM

1. not being realistic
they think they gone be big in a month or two, and when they dotn see the results they want they quit
2. to heavy weights/bad form
they think the more weights is better even though during a bicep curl they have to jump and arch their back 90 degrees to get the weight up
3. fat poeple thinking they get a flat belly from doing 1000 situps or crunches
YOU LOSE FAT BY DOING CARDIO U MORONS! :P

ToBeOrNotToBe

02-13-2005, 06:19 AM

1 - They never understand the importance of nutrition in bodybuilding. I try to explain them that the diet is extremely important for someone who intends to gain muscle mass, but they just think it ALL has to do with training and training only!

2 - I'm sorry to repeat this again, but it's just because they really don't have any idea about how important a good/oriented diet is for someone who wants to gain muscle mass. This is by far the biggest mistake of all!

3 - Some of them give too much importance to training the biceps, abs and pecs (at least, that's what I've seen), but they forget other important muscles like all the back muscles, shoulders, triceps, quads, harmstrings, etc etc...

Maru Saru

02-13-2005, 06:30 AM

All of us were beginners at one point, not a single one among us can claim to have started from any point beyond a green novice and naïve newbie when we first started throwing iron around. And I assume most, if not all, made some erroneous moves when we decided to get in the gym and get big. Our shared shortcomings are many but it seems to me that while the list is long, our mistakes fall into one of three categories. It is a firm understanding of some underlying premises that separates the vet from the rookie, the increasingly big from the endlessly small. Rather than identify three specific actions or habits that plague the beginner, I think it useful to expand our scope and examine three fundamental obstacles that one must overcome to be successful in the arena of bodybuilding.

#1 Ignorance
Most rookie mistakes can be aptly chalked up to simply not knowing what the heck you are doing. This is forgivable, to an extent. A dictionary definition puts ignorance as lacking experience or knowledge, not being aware. Fair enough. Can we really expect to push some iron, pop some pills, and become the chiseled Adonis we dream of being while gracing the cover of magazines and wielded gold plated trophies? Of course not. Bodybuilding, like nearly every other hobby, sport, or undertaking, is one of refinement and improvement that comes with time, experience, and the necessary devotion to critically examine what you are doing. Poor diet, over-training, shoddy form, or general inconsistency are all marks of ignorance. Each in itself has been named a common mistake but I think they all fall under the same umbrella. Thankfully, this most common obstacle is also the most easy to overcome. With so many well-informed gym rats surrounding you both in the gym and on bodybuilding.com forums, advice and information abound. Read the articles, post your questions, ask that monster with the bar dipping on each end in the squat rack next to you! We are all swimming in information and resources and while ignorance is forgivable, the root of it is not. Taking ignore from ignorance we are left with an insurmountable plateau. The humility to ask another will push you forward, suffering ego and blasting those stringy biceps for the third time in as many days will hold you back. Learn and excel.

#2 Absolutism
Okay so maybe this is not the best term, but I think it accurately reflects a handicap found in your gym’s freshest face. When you start something as ambitious and daunting as bodybuilding, it feels safe to pick a path or course and simply stick to it. While yielding some of the most satisfying rewards one can find in sport, we all know too well how frustrating our pursuit of those rewards can be. Referring to the ocean of information I spoke of before, it can be terribly overwhelming for the novice starring at a line of dumbbells and racks upon racks of plates. What is one to do with so many voices to listen to? Especially when so many of them say something different? Instinct often leads one to find a course that looks right, feels right, fits right, or allegedly worked well for someone else. Once you are armed with a borrowed weapon you just put the blinders on and charge forth, confident (nay, actually just desperately hoping) that when you emerge from the other end people will finally be starring at you in the gym and not the other way around. This blind devotion, while admirable on one level, is simply a prescription for stagnation that will be filled sooner rather than later. None of us react entirely the same and I have seen two different people shine and excel while doing seemingly the exact opposite of one another. Time and experimentation will tell which course of right for you. And that course itself is likely to change over time. Once you have mastered the information and fundamentals, keep open a critical eye. Examine what you have done, are doing, and will be doing both in the near and distant future. Do not resist change or the challenges posed by other means and methods. If such and such seems so obviously foolish, make sure you know why you think so. If the annoying knob grunting out reps next to you is, in your mind, doomed to regress at best, ask yourself how it is that you are so sure. Anyone with experience will agree, workouts evolve as much as your physique. Or maybe your physique evolves as much as your workout? Keep an open mind. Again, learn and excel.

#3 Ambiguity
This final point can manifest itself in so many ways that it takes all the due diligence we put into bodybuilding at large just to keep it at bay. At first it seems the easiest to tackle of the three beginner mistakes, but I seem to find it in more fellow lifters than the first two. Why are you putting yourself through this? Let’s face it, as much as one loves the pump, the stare from the gals, or the confidence that comes with self-improvement, it is exceedingly easy to lose sight of the why amidst all the attention the articles, forums, and conversations that grind away at the what’s, where’s, and how’s. Each of us has a different reason for running off for our regular bouts of iron therapy. And while these reasons may all be slight variations of each other, I think it is terribly important for the beginner to keep in mind just what that reason is. Yeah a new workout is exciting. And heck yes it feels good to wake up sore and know that you have done some good. And not one of us can dispute the elation that comes from seeing those improvements in the mirror or the eye of that hottie at the table across the way. But beyond these short moments of clarity of purpose, you need to keep the why close at hand. The wink from the girl at the bar is not going to always help you squeeze that extra rep out when you ate tired and frustrated. It is more likely that if you remember that moment at all, it will seem fleeting and the immediate task of doing another set will feel senseless. Putting too much satisfaction into superficial recognition guarantees a tough go for yourself when those shallow satisfactions run short. So you feel like a rock star when your body fat drops right? You are on top of the world and no one can stop you. So then next week when the scale says you have put a kilo back on what happens? It’s nice to think that you'll focus and get yourself moving again but if you lose context and the meaning of the pursuit itself, this temporary shortcoming can seem catastrophic. Write down what you are hoping to achieve. Record it, track it, share it, follow it. And beginners stand to gain the most from this. Put your new knowledge gained when you shed your ignorance into stating a firm goal and the means to achieve it. Adapt your workout to accommodate the inevitable peaks and plateaus that are to come. And keep your goals, whatever they may be at a given time, in the forefront of your awareness. They will help you get to the gym on the rainy days and help you get that last rep when everything else is screaming enough already. Replace ambiguity with acute ambition. Continue to learn and continue to excel.

Mastering Ignorance, Absolutism, and Ambiguity are three of the most challenging, and thus rewarding, tasks for beginning bodybuilders. Committing to the dismantlement of any or all three is not easy but is profound, important, and vital. I think that we have all had to deal with these issues to one degree or another but the fact that we are still here is testament to the determination we exercised to overcome them. I suffered acutely from each of these items and at times continue to do so. The willingness to push on and the humility necessary to abandon ego and seek and find help are indispensable. Starting at zero is the bain of the beginner. But the simple awareness and acceptance of this humble start plants the seed of success that can be cultivated and sown as one moves beyond the mistakes made. Don’t be ashamed of the mistakes; be ashamed of not learning from them.

shiv_rv

02-13-2005, 08:52 AM

1) Not having a definite plan before starting
2) Not knowing the intricacies of nutrition and diet
3) Not understanding the way the human anatomy works

ford4life

02-13-2005, 01:28 PM

heres experiences i see in my weightroom all the time:
1) not getting enough protein through food and shakes - just 1 shake a day and no other protein is not going to cut it
2) spending too much time training arms and chest, ignoring legs and core muscles; while at the same time doing that workout every day for a month and then quit when they dont understand why they arent growing
3) trying to take the easy way out-
as ronnie coleman aptly stated:
"everyone wants to be a body builder, but no one wana lift no heavy ass weight"
Training sucks... you just need to bear with it and you will see the results

JNo20

02-13-2005, 11:36 PM

While the majority of individuals that frequent this website are either bodybuilders or bodybuilding enthusiasts, not all trainees entertain thoughts of being 250lbs and ripped to shreds. Some are trying to increase their athletic abilities for a specific sport, some are trying to reduce their weight to a healthy level, and some are trying to look good for the opposite sex when summer comes. As they say, regardless of the quality of the pollen, the bee will never land if the flower isn't attractive. In that regard, it would be difficult to identify three specific mistakes new people make when they start working out. Therefore, I'll hit on three more general, but very large mistakes that I witness over, and over, and over again.

Mistake #1: EXPECTING TOO MUCH, TOO SOON

Most people don't understand how the body works. All too often, I see a new person begin working out in whatever gym I happen to be at on that particular day, and they have such enthusiasm and zest for the transformation they are about to undergo that they are invincible. Nothing can shift their focus, nothing can bring them down, they feel extremely powerful. They begin a workout routine that the club trainer, a good friend, a coach, or a magazine article suggested, and they perform it to the letter. The next week when I see them, they're still excited, but the little jokes by the goliaths at the squat rack seem to land a little closer to home this week. But, they are still determined. Week three, or four, or five if the person is in the minority, rolls around and all of the sudden, the amount of weight goes up dramatically, and their form suffers. Their smile is replaced with a scowl, the grunts of exertion turn to screams and shouts, and finally, they leave the gym for the last time. When a person has such high expectations and their excitement level is so, so high, there is inevitably going to be a let down. But, nine times out of ten the information source for this person either doesn't know very much, blames the trainee, or wants money before they'll give you an answer. Because of this, the individual just gets so frustrated with the lack of results that they either quit, get injured, or change things so much that the program becomes ineffective.

The best thing someone can do to avoid this mistake is to get information from a variety of sources, asking them how long it took them to start seeing results. Everyone and their brother have heard the saying, "Rome wasn't built in a day," but so few understand how this correlates with life. Be patient, be informed. I had absolutely no knowledge of weight training when I started hitting the gym for basketball. I did, however, know that I didn't become a great shooter overnight, it took over ten years to get to the level I had reached. I was able to apply this to strength training/bodybuilding and, fortunately, avoided a huge pitfall.

Mistake #2: LEARN BY WATCHING

It just seems logical that if someone has 20 inch "guns", tree trunks for legs, the coveted six-pack, and can bench press 300+ pounds then they MUST know the best way to achieve it. Unfortunately, the size of your brain doesn't grow proportionately with the size of your muscles, and someone with great genetics, cutting edge nutrition, and years of experience may not be the best person in your gym to learn from. Training wrong can still provide results, but they won't provide the best results, or the safest results. I can't even count the number of 125 pound kids asking Bruno how to bench 250 pounds or the number of obese individuals seeking the knowledge of Mr. Ironman on the best way to do cardio. This mistake generally leads to the first mistake, so while they are related, I feel that they are both important enough to list separately.

The best way to prevent learning the wrong information is to find a credible knowledge base. An educated and trained individual or organization that regularly puts out information about training, recovery, diet, mentality, ect., that is backed by science and experimentation that you can use to cross-check the "studs" at the local gym, or even better, nix them from the equation entirely.

I have been blessed to have had competent coaches when it came to soccer, basketball, wrestling, and baseball, but I had no such luck when I migrated to the weight room. Through my past athletic experience, however, I knew that is was a bad idea to walk in blind. So I thought to myself, what do I want to achieve? I wanted to be huge! So, logically, I asked myself, who are the big guys...bodybuilders, of course. At that point, Arnold Schwarzenegger instantly came to mind. So I rushed to the book store and purchased a copy of "Arnold Schwarzenegger's New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding." I picked information out of this book and religously performed the workouts suggested by The Oak. I made gains, sure, but they soon stopped, and little nagging injuries and soreness that used to go away suddenly stayed, and became more prominent. There was no explaination in Arnold's book, so I looked elsewhere, eventually finding sources such as Bodybuilding.com, NSCA, ACSM, and numerous others. This mistake is one that I suffered through just like everyone else, but eventually, after finding the right people to listen to, I corrected it.

Mistake #3: GOING SOLO

The surest way to lose focus, intensity, enthusiasm, and energy, especially in the beginning, is to go it alone. It is easy to feel intimidated by someone who is a few months, years, or decades ahead of you in the area you are looking to improve. By having some else with you, step for step, things get a lot easier. There was an experiment done a few years ago, one clydesdale was able to pull 7 tons on it's own, another was able to pull 9 tons. Together, they were able to pull over 30 tons. Don't hold me to those exact numbers, it's been a little while since I read about this, but the message is clear. The power of two is exponentially greater than the power of one. By having a training partner who goes with you daily to your workouts, or someone you keep in check with at a distance, there will be both a cheering section and a teammate that will keep you motivated, keep you in check, and maintain the intensity of the training.

While I see this ALL the time, I avoided this one as well. My best friend in the world was also looking to start building some size about the same time I caught the bug, so we went it together. I did all of the research and designed all of the programs, he showed up, kept it fun, and pushed me like no other. Today, I am a certified personal trainer and am currently in my sophomore year studying exercise science as a direct result of those first months of training, and me having to discover step-by-step what we were doing, while he ranked in the top 1% for his PT test in the nation and is a West Point Cadet. To this day we still keep in contact with each other about what we're doing in the gym, what our goals are, and we give encouragement constantly. I can honestly say that I don't know where I'd be, fitness-wise, if I didn't have him there from the start.

So there you have it, three of the biggest mistakes a new person can make when they start working out. They translate to all forms of working out, whether it be gaining mass, losing weight, rehabilitation, or sport-specific.

iixtacyii

02-14-2005, 02:39 PM

I'd say going to a supp store and buying everything under the sun, ESP GNC and ESP MUSCLETECH PRODUCTS!!!
Three of the easiest ways to learn about bodybuilding...
1)TRAIN HARD
2)EAT
3)SLEEP

scottyjb

02-14-2005, 03:34 PM

I notice quite a few mistakes from people just starting to work out when I watch them and when I talk to them. In no specific order the top three would have to be:

1. Bad form: Many just throw the weight around instead of performing the exercise correctly. Too many people are under the impression that as long as you get the weight lifted that is all that matters, which is a good segway into the next mistake.

2. Too much weight: It seems many like to see how much they can possibly lift using sloppy form on every set instead of using managable weight and getting good working sets in with the correct form.

3. Not setting goals: Some people have asked me about my workouts and I willing share whatever info they need. But I always tell them my general fitness goal is to gain muscle and will tell them what my current short term goal is such as adding a 1/4 inch to my measurments by June 1. When I ask them what there goal is many have no other goals than to "get in shape".

portse

02-15-2005, 10:39 AM

What Are The Top 3 Mistakes People Make When They Start Working Out?

Not many poeple (if any) walk into the gym for the very first time with the information they'll need to make the most of their time. So what mistakes are many beginners making? Also, how would one correct these mistakes to make the most of their gym time? Here are the top 3 mistakes people tend to make when they first start working out.

Mistake #1 - Overtraining:
Many first time lifters (myself included when I started) approach the gym with misinformed beliefs and the desire to accomplish their goals very quickly. First time lifters lack patience and just simply do not understand the complexities of bodybuilding. Their only action plan is to lift heavy and often. This mindset leads to overtraining and as a result, limited or absolutely no results are evident. The lack of initial results cause the individual to believe that nothing will work for them and they give up on their goals. These people must understand that weight training is merely the stimulus for muscular growth and development. Muscles are not solely created in the gym, but rather outside of the gym. So how do we correct this behavior? Every first time lifter should research their goals and have a proper workout program at their disposal and of course, be consistent with it!

Mistake #2 - Improper Diet:
Yup, you guessed it. Most individuals, whether weight training or not, simply DO NOT eat enough! How can we expect our bodies to grow if we are not properly fueling them. Our bodies are like vehicles. In order to run, they need fuel! In addition to not eating enough, many individuals lack the proper balance of nutrients. Think of protein as the building blocks of muscular development and carbohydrates as the cement. Our bodies require the best of both worlds. Dietary fats are also essential as they help with certain bodily functions. Vitamins are also important. All of these needs can be met easily with powerful eating strategies and dietary supplements. Eating enough and eating the right kinds of foods will impact your individuals goals significantly! So how can we correct an improper diet? Research different nutrition programs and decide which would best suit your goals. Then have a look at all of the different dietary supplements available in the online store on this site. You can find all of the information and supplements you need right here!

Mistake #3 - Neglecting Certain Body Parts:
One of the biggest mistakes I myself made when I started weight training was NEGLECTING MY LEGS!! I see many, many other people doing the same thing! I wanted big arms and a massive chest and didn't care much about my legs. The truth, is that by training your legs you're adding strength to secondary muscles that are worked during your compound movements, such as squats and stiff-leg deadlifts. I overlooked the importance of these movements early on. The same goes for other body parts that are neglected early on. Every muscle needs to be trained equally. So how do we correct this? Make sure you train each and every muscle equally. You may train lagging muscles harder than others, but no muscle should ever be neglected!

My Experiences:
The 3 mistakes listed above are the 3 biggest mistakes that I made when I began working out. I corrected each mistake by researching and implementing strategies that I found in different articles on this site and by reading the thoughts and experiences of other individuals in the bodybuilding.com forums. Both were excellent sources of information!

portse

Goheels

02-15-2005, 12:33 PM

What Are The Top 3 Mistakes People Make When They Start Working Out?
Goheels
It seems that not too long ago that I was a beginner, but with that being said I wasn’t your typical beginner. I started lifting my senior year in high school with a couple of other guys, but unlike them I actually tried to learn about what I was doing rather than just following what the phys ed teacher was telling us to do. That being said I clearly observed some mistakes that many beginners go through when they first start working out.

Third Worst Mistake: Diet
When you first start out it really doesn’t occur to you later that hey, muscles are made of protein and that maybe I should eat some more protein to get bigger and repair myself for the next workout. This group of guys was a prime example. Not once did I hear them talk about trying to eat more or eat right after they workout, let alone a post-workout shake which most know is so vital to building and keeping your hard-earned muscle. These guys just really didn’t want to learn about the art of building muscle. Almost everyone has the Internet nowadays so just be proactive when you are a beginner and go online and look this stuff up. If you don’t know something, ask someone. I remember getting flamed a couple of times on message boards from my noobish questions but I knew if I learned what I was doing I would continue to get bigger and stronger. Most people would rate this one higher but I don’t that is the case as the other two mistakes are far more serious.

Second Worst Mistake: Diligence
Guess what happened after a few weeks? Yep, that’s right, a few of those guys who had been interested in lifting weights for PE started playing basketball on days they should have been lifting. When I asked them about it they said, “It’s real hard and I feel tired and sore for days afterward.” I just shrugged my shoulders at them and knew all to well that I had to keep at it and I would keep gaining. Simple fact: It is very difficult to gain a large amount of muscle mass without lifting weights. It just doesn’t normally happen that way unless you have been blessed with the genetics most people can only wish for. Get in the gym, workout, and keep doing it. Plain and simple.

And the Worst Mistake: Form
Okay so I sound like I am the child prodigy and I didn’t have anything thing that I am embarrassed about. That’s not entirely true. Those of us who decided we would continue with the weight training always competed to see who could lift the most at certain lifts. One such day we were competing at who could bench the most. (As most newbs do because they just haven’t realized the power of the almighty squat and deadlift) I was trying to do a weight entirely out of my league and I thrusted my butt right in the air to get the weight up and something in my back felt like it was being pulled. At that point I said, “**** get it off me.” I was pretty embarrassed and my back hurt like hell for two weeks. Two weeks that I couldn’t lift. It’s critical that proper form be learned when you are a beginner because if this bad form stays around it’s going to be hard to break and will lead to injury later on down the road. It is so important to keep form on any and every lift and most beginners neglect this because they bring their egos into the gym as well as the fact that they might not know any better. Getting injured before you even get a good start is a surefire way to end up quitting a weight training program.

The key to avoiding these common mistakes as a beginner is to be knowledgeable and continue to be excited about what you are doing. Get in the gym and learn as much as you can and if you don’t know something, ask. I guarantee that if you follow this simple advice that you will advance from your newb stage and become a full fledged intermediate lifter.

Kill_yourself

02-16-2005, 05:41 AM

No matter how long you have been training for that perfect body, we will always be learning something new each time. We will always be students of Bodybuilding. But every time you learn the extra something, We curse and swear at why didn’t you have that knowledge earlier. And mostly this happens very frequently for the beginners of bodybuilding.

The 3 Top mistakes Made By Beginners

1) The Top mistake of all time is…. Gullibility!!!!
Due to the fact that these people are new in bodybuilding, they can be compared to a newborn. Without knowledge of anything about training or dieting, their brain is like a sponge, believing and soaking up all information that they can get their hands on, regardless of its credibility. If a beginner over hears a conversation about protein being the key to rapid muscle growth, he will instantly buy a protein powder and drown himself in it till the point where his liver and kidney tap out. And in the end give up.( this example could be a little extreme and unrealistic but I am just trying to stat a point.)

A perfect example would be
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bobchic6.htm

A mind-blowing 846 people tried to purchase this product. I bet 90% of this are beginners. Can you believe how gullible people can be. Thus with that I conclude that the most common mistake that people make while starting out would have to be their gullibility. The best advice I can give for this is to constant stuff yourself with knowledge. Taking information at face value do not always have a happy ending, even if the information is true. For me personally, I take any advice given to me as a side note, and never do exactly to what I was advised to do. I am not saying that your gym buddies will always be lying to you, but even if they were telling you the truth to the best of their knowledge, what works for them may not have the same effect on you. The best way is to do something that works for you and you only to achieve full and satisfactory results. Always do research about something new before trying it, after all it is your body you are messing with.

2)The Second mistake would have to be improper training techniques.
Sadly, I once fell into this mistake. Many a time you can see people( usually small sized beginners) doing set after set of bench press about 3-4 times a week. The basic theory of more is better seems to be an inborn technique that most people adhere to. I have personally seen a 120lbs guy doing 30 sets of flat bench press with spot over a period of an hour for 4 times a week. Isn’t that just ridiculous? And overtraining is just half of the mistake. The other part would most definitely have to be spotting. The main cause of this mistake is the complete misinterpretation of “ Training to True Failure” Let me explain through an example.
John decided to get his body in shape with goals of beating Ronnie Coleman one day, and he has requested the help of Jack to spot him just in case he needs it. John believes that the best way to train is to train to True Failure. Which means “performing a set until the point of being unable to complete one more rep”
But for the John, it is being interpreted as not being able to move the weight anymore. So what he did was to do a few sets by himself and as soon as he started getting fatigue, he ask Jack for a spot. John will then continue to do set after set till the point where Jack has to pull 100% of the weight for John And in the process doing a mini workout for himself. And then, John regard that as true failure. That is just wrong. Spotting should only help you with the last few reps while 90% of the job should still be done by the person himself and not the spotter. To avoid this, never depend fully on a spotter. The best way is to not use one unless you have certain safety concerns. E.g if you are trying out a new max weight on the incline bench and you don’t want your face to be crushed if you miss it. So you can use a spot in that case.

3) The last mistake would have to be diet
The most under-rated part of bodybuilding would have to be diet. Most Beginners think that by training hard in the gym, muscle will surely arrive just like how your bills magically arrive at your doorstep. The main cause for this misconception would be because they see some muscle gains after the initial stages of training even though they were not on any form of diet program. And they conclude that muscle is built in the gym. Soon they will realize that muscle gains do not arrive in that manner and they buy a protein supplement and down a shake after every workout and that is it. They are under the mindset that muscle takes 10 years to grow. So that is their excuse for not getting their diet in check. That is also the reason why some beginners turn to steroids. They are just too frustrated from all the waiting.
One of the things that every bodybuilder should know is that diet is a big part of training. So until you get that in check, do expect any rapid muscle gains in the near future.

Other mistakes stated that are not 100% vaild

1) Ego training.
Although many may argue that this is one of the top 3 mistakes in beginners, I don’t think so. Ego training is more commonly found in the more experienced people, the ones that have been going to the gym regularly for sometime now. When someone goes to the gym for the very first time, he has already admitted to himself that he has a problem and he is trying to rectify it. He is either too fat or too thin. He is also clueless about all the different aspects of bodybuilding but he is willing to learn. So where will the ego be coming from? It is extremely rare that a person the has set foot on the gym floor for the very first time will load up a bar for 400lbs and attempt do 8 repetitions for 5 sets. In fact it is so rare I have not seen that before! So when people argue that beginners do ego lifting it is not accurate because they are not referring to the true beginners but rather the ones that have been in the gym for a period of time already. Ego training comes hand in hand with poor form. Without a large ego the form will not be poor.

2) Over dependence on Supplements.
This is also not entirely true. When someone starts going to the gym, he will usually be in his teens and most people would have a limited amount of finance to spend on supplement at that point of time . Unless you are one of those rich kids that have everything provided to you. But that is quite rare. Judging by how much supplement cost these days, It is highly unlikely that one would be interested in depending fully on supplement. They would wish they could but it is beyond their financial means.
Example of how much would it cost to over rely of supplement.
Whey protein(10lbs): $55
Creatine(1000g): $20
Glutamine(1000g): $45
Multi-vitamin(100serving): $15
ZMA(60 serving): $22
Animal Stak( 42serving):$56
HMB (120 serving): $25
Ecdysterone :$45
Growth hormone booaster: $24
Nitric oxide:$40
This is about a 2 month supply. It adds up to $347. Now how many people would actually have that $347 to spare every 2 months to spend on supplement. So the idea of over reliance on supplements for beginners is again not accurate.

3) Neglecting certain body parts.
Lets just run through the question posted again. “What Are The Top Three Mistakes People Make When They Start Working Out?”
By mistake we mean something that they do as a form of blunder without knowing it. But by neglecting certain body parts, any tom, dick or Harry would be fully aware that if you neglect the legs, the legs will not grow. And only after accepting that fact will they decide to skip that leg day. Bearing in mind that not everyone that goes to a gym have a desire to look like the next Ronnie Coleman. Some want to gain strength in certain areas, which they would be using a lot in the sport that they are actively involved in. E.G If I am a swimmer I might want to concentrate more on my shoulders. But that does mean I have I made a mistake by neglecting my legs.

Personal Experience:
When I first started working out, all I thought about was getting a bigger chest(I’m sure I am not alone on this one). So I worked out 3 times a week and all 3 were chest workouts. I would do half the weight and my spotter will do the other half( tag team) And after working out for about 3 months, I got frustrated and decided to train everyday. So basically I meant 7 days of chest training. With about 25 sets each time. And after about 1 month I got really frustrated due to the overtraining. And I just gave up. I took a break from working out and read books on training and got some idea on how to train. And Through the months and years I learned more bit by bit.

Another mistake I did was to not doing enough research. I read an article about variations in your workout. Basically it wrote that you should switch your workout from time to time to keep your body guessing. So I thought “ Hey if my body can’t guess what I will be doing, it will grow” So I did a pretty dumb thing. I found www.bodybuilding.com and the exercise data that it had. So what I did was to pick ANY 3 exercise for that body part and do it. And I would change a different one every workout. It didn’t workout for me. Because of the fact that I switched too fast, my body didn’t even have time to know what hit it. At first it was good. But after the 3 workout, I was feeling it anymore. So I began to read more and more to achieve the knowledge that I have now. And I am still learning.

There is no end to the amount of knowledge that one can have so constantly fill yourself with knowledge. Knowledge is Power!

Non-racist

02-16-2005, 07:00 AM

1. FORM & DIET- Without them you may aswell not bother. Upon hearing that you have to eat big and lift big to GET BIG, they go out and lift the heaviest weight they can muster and then eat 4,000 calories of ****e. I happen to think, and i'm sure all sane people will agree, that the most important thing when starting is to BUILD IT UP. So getting your form right FIRST using lighter weights is essential. Also building your calories up as the weeks progress, as opposed to stuffing it all down you when you can't handle it.

Also don't do what some 'vets' at this site do, which is eat ****e when bulking.

2. Not having a specific routine/goal. If you don't set a goal/routine, then you'll just get bored IMO, and lose motivation. It's unlikley you'll see any results either.

3. Staring at all the hot ass when you should be starting the next set. Although if the woman at your gym are like the one's at MY gym, then this is acceptable.

BORN2LOSE

02-16-2005, 11:22 AM

1. Overtraining: Adding too many sets and too much weight/cardio at first.
2. Diet: Reducing calories too much and not getting enough Protein. Then binging on sweets and fatty foods.
3. Bad Form.

da rel hogan

02-16-2005, 12:43 PM

What Are The Top 3 Mistakes People Make When They Start Working Out?

Whether you'd like to admit it or not, we were all once naive beginners and with most beginners mistakes were made. If you're a beginner, please read. If you're experienced lifter, enjoy chuckling and these "newbies". So what are the top 3 mistakes that beginners make?

First, most common mistake – Eating everything in sight
Now although there is some truth in the saying "Eat big – get big" I'm sure it's the wrong type of weight us bodybuilders want. Eating in excessive amounts will lead to fat gain. The key to gaining is a good diet consisting of low GI and complex carbs, healthy fats and of course a high protein diet. When bulking it's true you need to eat over maintenance calories, but these calories need to be "Clean" calories and kept to about 500 above maintenance. Fast food calories are awful, avoid at all costs. Don't fall foul thinking that the meat in fast food is high in protein. It contains more fat than protein. For more info on fast-food visit http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fastfood.htm

Second, very frequent mistake – Bad Form
Don’t be that gym weirdo that everyone grins and chuckles at when watching him/her "swinging" weights around. My advice would be to research exercises in bodybuilding.com's workout database (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm), ask an instructor or discreetly watch others (unless they are weight swingers). Bad form will result in injury or slow muscle growth or both.

Third – Supplementation in replace to good diet
Supplements are extremely beneficial to most bodybuilders. Whey protein, Creatine and other basic supplements have been used for years on end with good results. However if your diet it less than perfect or your workouts aren't up to par then you are wasting your money. Supplements aren't magic pills but they do help when everything else is in order. The only supplement a complete beginner should take is whey protein. After a few months of learning by experience the other kinds of supplements will become more beneficial.

These are a simple overview of the three most common mistakes when starting out. There are so many more. Stick with it and remember results don't come overnight!

Grow_74

02-16-2005, 01:26 PM

1)Lifting too much weight with poor form-
This is one everybody sees. This is mostly the case with young males.

2)Lifting too light a weight-
Most females don't want to lift heavy weights because it builds big muscles. What they don't understand is that females don't have the test levels to build huge muscles.

3)diet-
This is obvious. they way undereat because they think that will help them loose weight or they think that because the frequent the gym the can eat whatever they want.

Trapper

02-16-2005, 02:35 PM

I am not an expert, in fact I am the opposite - which is why I think I know what the top three mistakes are when people first begin working out.

1) The first mistake people make is impulsively working out. Everything is about impulse. For instance, either you just saw Rocky III and decide that is exactly who you want to look like, or you just ate a Hardee's Thickburger for the umpteenth time and say to yourself that you are sick of looking this way. Many of my friends who said they wanted to get into shape started on impulse instead of having a plan, and none of them are still working out with me now.

2) Expecting fast results. Actually, I have a friend who just began working out yesterday, and was checking himself out in the mirror saying - yeah I just worked out today. Yeah, and I bet he won't be working out for long. I didn't tell him that, but he had no goals...just the general "get bigger" and "get more cut". Don't get me wrong. You can theoretically survive without a goal. I actually made the mistake in the beginning of doing both #1 and #2, but what kept me in was not committing the mistake of #3 - atleast this time around.

3) Not having a motivation. This was my problem when I first started and I think this is the most important one of all. There has to be something that motivates you. For some, it is pictures of improvement (I have tried that, it helps). For others, it is having a workout partner (I tried to have that), and for still others it may be clothes. I have a number of motivators, and they are all just within reach, so it is something to strive for. Some were pounds - for instance, one was to get out of the teens (I weighed 218 in the beginning), and next to break 200, and now it is to go into the 180s. And they all have a set time limit. I also have clothes motivators. At first, I just wanted to get into the clothes I got for Christmas. Now, I want to get back into my favorite suit, and my favorite shorts. Finally, I motivate myself by buying things for myself (only occassionally) to keep myself motivated. For losing 20 pounds, I bought myself a used iPod (around $100 from a friend) so it will probably be a while before I buy the next thing. But if I get down to another goal, I already know what my next gift will be - the under armour shirts only the fit guys can wear!

I probably won't win, but once I started typing, it all just came out!

Trapper

JoeSmith042981

02-16-2005, 03:37 PM

1. Improper Training (overtraining, undertraining, bad form, no plan)

2. Improper Nutrition (too many/too little calories, imbalance of micronutients)

3. Impatience (not realizing that a body transformation takes time)

A lot of people (myself included) fail to take these factors into account when they begin an exercise program. They try dozens of diets and workout programs and waste a lot of time wondering why nothing is working. Everyone wants the easy way out. They think some magic machine or pill will whip them into shape, then when they don't look like the models they saw on the advertisements, they either give up or move onto the next "big thing". In the end, they make it more compliated than it needs to be. You have to do some research and have some idea of what you are doing. Find out how to do it, then do it. For many people, it takes years to get out of shape. They need to realize that thay can't reverse the process overnight.

zyx1337

02-17-2005, 12:07 AM

Some mistakes I saw:

Putting the towl on the wrong place - I oftenly see in the gym people conflicted with themself where to put the towl, like setting on the towl when doing biceps on a chair instead of putting it behind thier backs, Putting the towl on the bench barbell(I saw that once, I swear) and more funny locations :P

Falling down of the treadmill - I saw only 4~ people falling down from the treadmill, But I sure alot more did in my gym, the treadmill requires cordination to work on it without hands, when I started to run on the treadmill, If I wouldnt grab the machine sides I would fall :P

Working fast, without any technique - When new people comes to the bench and start lifting it fast as superman, but completly not balanced, one side on the floor one side high in the sky :P

UliqMadiq

02-17-2005, 05:28 AM

The Top 3 Mistakes Newbies Make In the Gym:

1. Disproportionately Stressed, All-Over-The-Place Workouts -
Generally you'll find guys who are new to the gym working out chest and biceps, and women hitting their legs and butt, with minor variations. A lot of newbies tend to flit from machine to machine like butterflies, pretty much randomly without any structured goal in mind. I think the solution here is to look up a well-thought-out, scientifically based workout plan. (A good place to start is the Bodybuilding.com Workout Database (http://bodybuilding.com/fun/workoutdatabase.htm).) Even if you 'just want to tone', even if you 'just want bigger biceps', even if you 'just want a six pack', your best bet is to do that in a planned, structured and coherent way that doesn't stress one bodypart over the other. And don't skimp on the important compound exercises that 'hurt', like squats and deadlifts, or you'll suffer later and cheat yourself of growth. As time goes by, you'll also start to love these 'hurtful' exercises and the 'pain' from doing them.

2. Ego, and its Catabolic Effects on Form -
I think most of us have seen a couple of people in the gym performing the bent-over-lunge-reverse-clean, also known as barbell curl with ridiculously horrible form. It's understandable that everyone wants to look stronger than they are and lift as much weight as they can, but the statute that falls after the 'as much weight as they can' principle is that the exercise is still kept the same, not distorted into some sort of distant cousin of the original. A good place to start critiquing your form might be the Bodybuilding.com Exercise Database (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm). Remember, ego and a productive workout just don't gel together.

3. Starting Cold -
Personally I was surprised to notice how many people leap headlong into their workouts at my gym without so much as a cursory warm-up. You have the option of either a cardiovascular warm-up (a short, low intensity walk on the treadmill, for example), or a joint-specific warm-up (a set or two working the larger muscle group you are going to hit at about 40% of your 1RM). Ideally, you should opt for both, but warming up to your maximum weight is completely essential to avoid injury and help you lift more. For more detailed tips on how to warm-up properly, you could look into this article (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi51.htm).

Honorary mentions:
1. Being a gym deliquent (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/huston5.htm) and not following proper rules of etiquette.
2. Having a workout partner who also happens to be a partner in your 10-minute talking marathon between sets.
3. Working with no intensity whatsoever.

The Top 3 Mistakes Newbies Make Outside of the Gym:

1. Disproportionate and Unplanned, All-Over-the-Place Eating -
Whether it's making absolutely no changes to their diets whatsoever, or making extreme changes like eating all the protein they can stomach without knowing how or why, newbies tend to gloss over nutrition as a solution to their bodybuilding woes. It's an intensely deep subject with several levels, theories and strategies to it, but there are a number of basics that are fundamental to all these hypotheses. If you want to start seeing any significant changes in body composition, it's time to brush up on these basics. Start here (http://bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=BasicsofNutrition).

2. Supplement Frenzy -
It's entirely true that supplements can give you some excellent gains if used right, but it's time people stop thinking of them as magic pills or instant solutions. Newbies don't like to hear it, but without hard work, intense workouts and a pre-planned, consistent diet, you might as well just eat grass and hope it's "70,000% more anabolic than real food!" (taken verbatim from one of those advertisements in muscle magazines... well, almost verbatim). If you want to see gains from quality supplementation, get your training and diet in order, stop believing hyped-up ads, and start researching supplements (http://bodybuilding.com/store/infopages.html) and reading real testimonals (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=30) on the forums. Once you are all ready to buy what you need, don't rush to the nearest overpriced store, buy online at cheap prices (http://bodybuilding.com/store/index.html).

3. Skimping on the Flex -
Most people know what the word 'flex' implies, and will typically hit a biceps shot at the very mention of it. What a lot of newbies and even more experienced lifters tend to ignore is the hugely significant importance flexibility plays in bodybuilding, and maximizing your gains. Stretching is an essential task to do either after workouts or later in the day when you have the time. The most experienced amateurs and professionals in the sport all stretch for long periods of time because stretching the muscle fascia allows for more growth, better endurance and less susceptibility to injury. If you're not sure how to go about your stretching, start here (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/cynthia8.htm).

Honorary Mentions:
1. Being in the game temporarily, perhaps just as long as they believe it takes to get in better shape for a week at the beach, or to satisfy their New Years Resolutions. Clearly not long enough to achieve any good results.
2. Planning too many goals at once. Sure everyone would like to gain 20 lbs. of muscle and lose 20 lbs. of fat simultaneously, but aiming for extremes at opposite ends is going to leave you right where you are: in the middle.
3. Fad diets. Sadly, these are all-too-common in our 'instant fix' world, and far too many poor souls rush towards the temptation of fad diets as a quick solution to losing weight, with no research or appropriate science to back them up.

My Experience With Bodybuilding Mistakes, and How You Can Correct Yours

I think when I started off on this journey that slowly took over my life to a point where I can't live without my workouts, I was probably the human epitome of a Murphy's Law paradise. I believe I encompassed nearly all of the mistakes I've listed up above during my time in and out of the gym as a bodybuilding newbie. I wanted big arms so I kept hitting the biceps over other muscle groups, I ignored squats, I loaded up the weight and let my form suffer, I ate wrong, I didn't stretch and I thought that the right supplement was all I needed to boost my body into muscle-building fat-burning overdrive. Little did I realize how basic it really was when it came to just manipulating my diet and training according to researched, time-tested principles in order to see very significant gains. I think one of the biggest contributors to my realizing my mistakes was when I bought a few books on bodybuilding that covered all the basics on training and nutrition, which really opened my eyes to my own errors. Now, of course, websites like Bodybuilding.com are a storehouse of an immense quantity of quality articles that cover more than all the information I got out of those books, let you interact with professionals (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58) in the sport, let you hear the feedback and advice of other lifters (http://forum.bodybuilding.com) like yourself and provide a major kick in the motivation (http://bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=Motivation) department as well. I think any newbie would do well to simply scour this site and its forums to help rectify any of those mistakes we are all prone to making when starting off on something new. Then it's time to stop reading and start applying!

jeremy_butler17

02-17-2005, 09:21 AM

Constantly I find myself trying to teach beginners the ropes when it comes to lifting. I find that people, when they first start out, make a lot of mistakes. I see a lot of varying problems with diet routine, supplementation, and even allotted sleep hours per day. Some people find that poor form is more common but good form is developed and taught, not born with a person. These problems can cause the body to tire easily and/or lose not only fat weight but muscle weight as well. This is a very common problem with amateurs that are just starting out. With the right knowledge and the right time and help and a little bit of pocket money, all of these problems can be solved. If you don’t like to throw away money then this is the perfect article for you!

DIET

The most common mistake I find these rookies make is that they plan the wrong diet or don’t even change their diet at all. I cannot stress enough how important your diet is when you are weight training. Calories, carbs, sugar, protein, and everything else you will find in food all play a different roll in our bodies. I find that calories and carbs with the proper amount of protein and amino acids all work together to get you where you want to be. All meals should be spread out evenly so your body can absorb all of the beneficial nutrients needed to assist your body’s functions. I eat about 3,000 calories a day with about 200 grams of protein all spread out through 7 meals. This way I will have enough time to digest and absorb all of the protein and have energy enough from the calories to lift when I have to. Absorption is the key. If you have a meal with 800 calories and 15 grams of protein you will gain weight but it will all be fat. Whereas if you eat a meal with 600 calories and 50 grams of protein, you will begin to gain muscle weight.
This is where supplementation can be of great assistance.

Supplementation

Supplementation is a very misunderstood method used when training. I find that people often find the wrong supplement or just don’t get the right amount of what they have. People often find what they need or think they need but don’t take how much they should be taking. This can cause a numerous amount of negative effects on the body.
At the top of my list I would have to put creatine. Creatine is a great supplement when used properly and in the right forms. It can be extremely beneficial when you are trying to put on weight. Most often I see that people will take too much creatine or just not enough or plainly not spreading it out enough. There are many different types of creatine including:
- Creatine Ethyl Ester
-Effervescent Creatine
-Creatine Monohydrate
Above all other sources I find that these are the top three creatine supplements in order from best to worse. A good serving size of any type of creatine is 2.5 grams at once. I would suggest not exceeding this in order to optimize absorption. And 25 grams per day. Be carefull with this suppliment as it may cause liver and/or kidney problems. Drink a lot of water, at least a gallon a day.

Another top supplement in which I find people making mistakes is protein. For a person to build muscle I find that you should have at least .75 grams of protein per pound of body weight for beginners and at least 1 gram per pound for those of you who want to really pack on the weight. In my experience I have found that starting smaller will build you up stronger faster. For protein I would suggest taking no more than 25 grams per serving for weight ranging from 0-199 pounds and 45 grams per serving for everyone out there weighing 200 pounds or more. Spreading them all out evenly so as to maximize absorption. Absorption is the key here as well; if your body doesn’t absorb the nutrients it cannot use them.

Amino acids are extremely important here also. If you are going to supplement with amino acids, I would suggest spreading the intake of these also. Though the amount taken in is infinite, be smart. Don’t go overboard. Remember that absorption is the key.
I would recommend taking the suggested amount on the bottle. If you want, you may take a little more, but I cannot guarantee that your body will agree with me. If you don’t absorb it you cannot use it.

Sleep

Sleep is as important as everything else in the bodybuilding world. You need to sleep. Your sleep time is your recovery time and if you don’t sleep you will cause damage to your muscle. Imroper amounts of sleep are detrimental to building maximum amounts of muscle. I used to find myself sleeping only 5 or 6 hours per night. At this stage I wasn’t gaining any weight. I actually lost weight when this would occur. I developed a late night routine and slept for 10 hours per night after that. I would recommend at least 10 hours per sleep each night for everyone. This will allow the body to fully recuperate from hard daily workouts and stress. This way you build muscle and stay relaxed, not grouchy and disturbed in the morning.

Above all, I find these three mistakes occur most often with beginners. Just remember to start slow and build yourself up. Don’t try to get ahead of the crowd. You need to pace yourself for the race or you will find that after the first sprint you will be worn out and everyone will pass you. Everyone makes mistakes and I would recommend that before you make another one, do your research and make sure you know what you are getting into before you start to dig another grave for yourself.

As a beginner I still make mistakes but I learn to deal with them in the most beneficial way. In the beginning I ate what ever I wanted and didn’t eat if I didn’t feel like it. I read an article on bodybuilding.com and found that the food you eat will determine how you will develop. Also when I ate I didn’t spread out my meals but after a little knowledge from a health teacher I found that having more, smaller meals would lead to better absorption and therefore better beneficial gains. I do my best to thoroughly research a supplement or vitamin before I use it.

myPecsRbigger

02-17-2005, 05:58 PM

Top 3 mistakes in the gym

1. Diet
New trainers or even most people who have been going for a few years pay little attention to this area or even completely neglect it. Fact you must eat more calories then your maintenance calories to gain any muscle at all and for most people they don’t do this. As a simple guide to figure out how much you need for maintenance multiply each pound of body weight by 10 and this is how many calories you need to survive, this number however can vary by as much as 500 calories because other factors come into play such as metabolism, body fat percentage and activity level. However now we have a ruff guide to determine the amount of calories needed to maintain ourselves but to add muscle we need to eat more then this because each kilo of muscle is 6000 calories and if we wanted to gain a kilo of muscle a week we would need to every day eat our maintenance calories + 6000/7 a day. THATS ALMOST 1000 CALORIES MORE EVERY DAY, FOR A 165 POUND PERSON THATS ALMOST DOUBLE THEIR MAINTAINANCE FOOD INTAKE, NOW DO YOU SEE HOW IMPORTANT FOOD IS ???.

Once you figure out how many calories you need you then divide this number into the following portions 50/35/15 carbs/protein/fat. This is a golden ratio for muscle growth however it can be altered a bit because everyone is different. This is more of a general guide so we will stick to 50/35/15. Remember when working out this ratio carbs and protein are worth 4 calories for each gram and fat is worth 9 calories per gram. So now lets say in your diet you eat a cup of oats that’s 54 grams of carbs, 10 grams of protein and 6 grams of fat adding up to 300 calories and 300 = 54*4 + 10*4 + 6*9. Well it actually equals 310 but that’s besides the point because it’s a very general method of working things out and will help you get a diet that is just about right. Finally meals should be spread out evenly throughout the day preferably 6 meals a day is good but less is fine also this is important to keep the body in a anabolic state and is a bit more complicated to explain for just this simple article, the interested reader can find much much more information on nutrition and is highly urged to because NUTRITION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN TRYING TO GAIN MUSCLE.

2.Training
What training programs work for people varies greatly between individuals. A common mistake in my opinion is when people new to the gym and people who have stalled progress in the gym adopt the high volume training methods usually used by names like Ronnie Coleman and Arnold schwarzenegger, because hey these training routines work great for them so they should be the ideal training routine for everyone trying to gain muscle. No sorry these two MR Olympians are superior genetics compared to the general population, they can recover from 20 sets per muscle group and grow. The average joe however fits into the hard gainer category and even if you don’t fit in this category this is where you should start.

For a hard gainer to grow all you need to do is this every seven days
Incline bench 2x10 to failure
Squats 2x10 to failure
Dead lifts 2x10 leave one rep in you for safety reasons
Weighted pull-ups palms facing 2x10 to failure

or even better is a two day split like this
Monday
Incline bench 2x10 to failure
Squats 2x10 to failure

Thursday
Dead lifts 2x10 leave one rep in you for safety reasons
Weighted pull-ups palms facing 2x10 to failure

These exercises are compound movements meaning they use multiple muscle groups in the exercise, completing all these exercises will work all of your lean body mass, hell squats alone work 70% of your lean body mass.

For each training session try to put on more weight each time or try to do more reps. If your not putting up the weight after one week and don’t continue to do so for at least 10 weeks I will be very surprised.

3.supplements
It’s not that people pick the wrong supplements when first training it’s that they think supplements are going to make them big. When im at the gym I always hear uneducated lifters who put their lack of gains down to no supplements, this is wrong supplements will only give you that edge once nutrition and training are down pat.

Supplements to consider are:
A.protein powders - However I believe these should be incorporated into the nutritional aspect of training and is not really a supplement and more of a food in my eyes.

B.multivitamin - Many people don't eat enough veggies in a day to get all the vitamins they need, im one of these people so supplementing with any basic multi is a great idea, don’t go overboard and spend allot of money on these and if your a guy make sure you avoid multivitamins with iron in them.

C.creatine - proven to increase strength and makes your muscles look bigger due to the water retention it causes, need I say more?

D.flax seed and fish oil - contains essential fatty acids (EFA's) these omega 3 and omega 6 compounds cannot be synthesised in the body so its good to supplement these for overall health and well being, good fats such as these can also assist in weight loss.

Just make sure not to spend to much money on supplements because most supplements out of the ones I listed are not worth spending your money on, remember they only give u an edge training and nutrition is where its at!

MyPecsRbigger

Defiant1

02-18-2005, 10:51 AM

TOPIC: What Are The Top Three Mistakes People Make When They Start Working Out?

For the week of: February 11 - February 18

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everybody wishes they knew then what they know now. What three things do you see beginners doing over and over again and what can they do to prevent it? Why do these people make these mistakes?

What mistakes did you make when you started? How did you learn that it was a mistake, and what did you do to fix it?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

The best response will get $50 in credit to use in our online store! The other good responses will be used in an article on the main Bodybuilding.com site, with the poster's forum name listed by it.

Thanks,

Will W.
Bodybuilding.com

1. Starting out with a split routine. One of the FEW things studied in bodybuilding with consistent results is that beginners make their best gains doing whole body routines at LEAST 3x per week. I am amazed at how many people start doing 1 bp per day 1x per week splits.

2. Not paying any attention at all to nutrition.

3. Chopping and changing routines when they don't get instant results.

delano5050

02-18-2005, 11:41 AM

I would have to say
#1. overtraining (especially when it comes to heavy wieghts and bad for and to much cardio)
#2. Bad diet
#3. Then Because of the first two not seeing rusults and then quiting.
I have to admit i am guilty of all three but it really helped when i started to educate myself about fitness.

triplewhammy

02-18-2005, 02:08 PM

1) biceps

2) chest

3) abs

;)

J Michael

02-18-2005, 02:20 PM

1. Working Vanity Muscles only

These people work on their Max Bench all the time, neglecting a more important lift, the squat, and other leg work. There are very very unbalanced "big guys" in gyms across the nation.

2. Cardio ONLY to lose fat

These overweight people try to "cut up" by only doing cardio and totally neglecting resistance training. They lose fat, but they lose just as much muscle, so they are a lighter version of their former fat selves. Women are guilty of this more often then men when it comes to this "strategy".

3. Improper diet

Between Atkins and the recent Atkins backlash, people are confused. Being in the military, I have seen all sorts of diets from fat people to hard gainers. Some are just off the wall, from starvation and ZERO carb diets from the overweight people to the hardgainers eating anything they want, including mass ammounts of junk food. They also think that Suppliments will cure years of inactivity.

ravadongon

02-21-2005, 04:18 AM

WOW, the webmaster's got a lot of reading to do :D

Pittzburghkid

02-21-2005, 11:16 AM

Not working out consistently. Train hard, eat big and sleep well still gets the biggest gains.

jasong2gs

02-21-2005, 06:49 PM

1. Expecting TOO MUCH, TOO SOON
2. Like said before, working only the 'vanity muscles'.
3. Expecting too much too soon!

1&3 happened to me!

aliisthebest

02-22-2005, 09:09 AM

Not researching lifting and not understanding the basics of nutrition and lifting. RESEARCH, RESEARCH,RESEARCH!!!!

user625942484

02-22-2005, 10:09 AM

in this order i would say:
3. Lifting weights they can't handle.
2. Overtraining...they go out and buy a book written by a marathon bodybuilder in the 70s and do just a bit more than he suggests.
1. DIET-if you have everything else right 100% you still need to eat.
"Working out and not eating is like planting crops and not watering them."-Arnold.

mrsc

02-22-2005, 01:37 PM

1) Not researching
2) Expecting miracle changes
3) Doing it for the wrong reasons and not staying focused

outerkore

02-23-2005, 12:21 PM

A lot of females I know when they start (read that:younger girls)
workout their legs ONLY and all the time....
reasoning? besides lack of knowledge about fitness....
"I don't want a huge upperbody...."
But then you do want a huge ass? They never allow any rest for their leg muscles, between constant cardio and squats. Then they wonder why they aren't getting anywhere.

I'd say diet is a really big one. When I first started a few years back, I was poor and couldn't afford protein powders or whatever. I still soaked all my money into drinking and what not. Though I would workout, I would eat like hell. Anyone I help or train now I have them write down what they eat in a week to look at where the problem is. Chances are 75% of the time besides form, it's a diet/nutrition issues.

BACKYARD DOG

02-23-2005, 01:30 PM

I really would love to talk in this area cause I wanna save beginners precious time the mistakes lie in 3 areas they are the basics of bodybuilding :

1- training.

2- nutrition.

3- sleeping & rest .

training is so important but unfortunately beginners think the more is the better but actually it is train smart not train more so they
make some mistakes in 3 areas of training :

* training for too long.
*training everyday.
*sacrificing form to use more weight.
* neglecting some body parts.

training for too long will get cortisol levels spiked up so that will lead to the direct opposite of what they want it will store fat and take protein from muscle so his on a catabolic state then , after all that he goes to the gym everyday even thought he haven't recovered so that will lead to overtraining which also something he will not like moreover they go so heavy that the form is so bad thinking "big weights means big muscles" that is true but if using good form they just take part of the saying and apply it.

Second part is just training his beach muscles (chest ,delts ,bi’s ) and forgetting about other body parts like legs and back which have the most benefit for the body cause when trained right they secrete huge amounts of testosterone and growth hormone .

Then comes the 80 % of the game as pros say Nutrition :

I have seen my friends and even I in the beginning we used to return from working out and sitting having fun & sometimes ordering a huge combo from Mc’donald’s or burger king so that was complete $h*t what I realized is that after finishing your workout u must eat and eat lots of simple carbs. And fast acting protein like egg whites or having a protein shake that contains whey cause it is the most fast acting .

Also, this eating must continue I don’t mean you don’t stop but there is a 6 hour anabolic window the more right you eat in that period after training the faster you recover .

SLEEP & REST:

When it comes to this area it is really important cause during sleep is when your body recover from the intense workout also , hormones like testosterone and growth hormone spikes so that is in your benefit but to have all that you have to sleep minimum 6 hours the best is from 8-10 hours also a one hour nap after working out if possible is beneficial .

For now I am going to tell u about my own mistakes that I did when I first worked out I ran for one hour on the treadmill then another 2 hours working muscles went home ate nothing and even didn’t drink water thinking it will get me bloated the most thing I did right was sleeping but what is the point without good nutrition it is one of the main bases.

Hope u enjoyed the article and learn from my mistakes and now go out train hard but smart ……..

lovemytrx

02-23-2005, 01:45 PM

Not eating properly and enough.

Pound down the protein, and minimize the carbs.

Training with proper intensity and incorrect frequency.

Everybody's recovery ability differs and just because we read that such and such a pro only trains each body part once a week doesnt mean that it is applicable to our own particular situtation.

I now train each body part about twice every 8 days or so and vary it as needed.

Lack of rest.

Gotta get more sleep, intense workouts take a lot out of you.

push it 05

03-09-2005, 07:27 PM

Mistake No.1- WRONG WANTED SELF IMAGE
The number one mistake people make is not having the right idea of what it is they are actually trying to accomplish. Many people see a picture or a movie of what they want to look like and they must realize that this is not what they will ever be able to look like. Beginners dont realize that they have to set a goal for THEIR OWN BODY, and not set a goal to look like someone elses. It is physically impossible to look exactly like that person in the picture or movie because everyone's body is different. This however doesnt mean that they cant look just as good or even better if they work hard enough.

Mistake No.2- DIET DIET DIET, and dedication
Another thing that most people dont realize is that they have to be dedicated to their goal and never let up. One of the biggest dedication a person can make is to their diet. Your diet is what fuels the fire, you cant have a GREAT workout with out a proper balanced nutrition. You can have a good workout but it wont be the best you can do. For instance, say you start a nutrition plan on monday and plan to work out on friday, you eat all the protein and calories your body is required for a week and work out on friday, your workout should be great. Now on the other hand say the next week you eat only 5/6 of the protein you need and 4/5 of your needed calories and then workout agian on friday, your workout will be good but it wont be as good as it was the previous week. Diet is key in whatever type of workout you are doing. I had trouble putting this major mistake at number 2 since honestly i cannot stress the fact enough that nutrition is the hardest part of gaining that perfect self body image. One more thing I would like to add that gives people the idea about how important nutrition is. Your workout should be the fun part, your diet should be the part you dislike the most, and i am not kidding when i say that.

Mistake No.3- IMPROPER FORM
Improper form is a pretty big problem. Not only does it not allow you to get full potentional out of whatever muscle you are working, but you can also become injured and that goal of your perfect body is now spaced out farther away. So to all the beginners please, if you do not know how to correctly preform a movement do not engage in it, ask someone or look it up. I have yet to see any respectable lifter not give time to help anyone who seriously wanted help.

Some other ideas-I know this was supposed to be the top three but there are many mistakes I see beginners make that I thought were worth mentioning.
1. Expecting results to soon-transforming your body takes time and effort, it is far away from a OVER NIGHT MIRACLE DIET. You should never give up unless you are 100% happy and when you reach that point you should come up with a plan to maintain your happiness. Its just not going to happen without time and dedication.
2. Stopping the increase of knowlage-Once people get a little taste of how they should be doing things they think that they know it all and there is no further knowlage they need. You can never know all there is to know about your body or how somthing should be performed. We only use 10% of our brain, so what does this mean if say we are able to use 20% think of all the info we could know. The point is we can never stop learning about ourselves and the more we know the better we can make ourselves, so dont stop learning.