Krueg
Master Don Juan
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
- Messages
- 1,279
- Reaction score
- 131
- Age
- 36
Just a quick list of mistakes I see beginners make and some mistakes I even made.
Form: Whether your doing barbell curls or squats, you need to learn how to execute proper form. If you don't, your just risking injury and not training the muscle properly. If your not sure your doing the exercise right, ask a personal trainer to watch you, read an article or book on how to perform an exercise or watch videos of experienced lifters or trainers. Its about training smart.
Weight: Some beginners jump into the gym and start throwing on more weight than they can handle and end up getting hurt or plateau quickly. If you cant control the weight and maintain good form, its probably too heavy. As a beginner you need to start out light, learn how to do the exercise and do it the right way.
Training to failure: You don't need to train to failure all the time. If you train to failure all the time and are missing lifts, your just beating yourself down and most likely loosing strength. Its okay to push yourself time to time but, you want to feel empowered and confident after training.
Rest: Rest is also important. Some guys think they need to train 5-6 days a week because thats what some advanced bodybuilder is doing or what some muscle magazine tells you. As a beginner you only need to train 3 days a week and try to get 8 hours of sleep.
Changing your routine: Too many guys are switching up their routine every week, month, or every X amount of time thinking they will plateau if they dont switch things up. Beginners seem to have A.D.D. and screw everything up by wanting to change or add things because they saw someone else doing something. Stick to the program for atleast 4 months so you can actually see some results and learn what works for you. You wont know that if your constantly changing things.
Training Methods: You hear about; Forced Reps, Partial Reps, Negatives, 21's, Stripping, Supersets, Staggered Sets, and ect. Basically techniques for experienced lifters and really arent for beginners. If you want to get better at something, keep working hard at it!
Progression: Some guys have been Benching, Pressing or Squating the same amount of weight for months or years and never try to progress and usually look the same week after week. If you want to "Shock" your muscles, keep growing and getting stronger. You need to increase the weight. Try adding 5lbs to your lifts each week.
Intensity: Some guys just arent training hard enough. Get focused, squeeze the sh!t out the bar, psyche yourself up, get motivaded. I see some guys in the gym that look like their just doing motions. Get serious about your training. But, don't be the annoying guy screaming every rep of a bicep curl... Some grunting is ok.
Diet: This will vary on the person and what their goals are. But, if your skinny or arent seeing much muscle growth. Your not eating enough food or your not getting enough protein. You need 1-2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. If your trying to gain weight you should eat 3500-4000 calories a day.
Choosing a program: Alot of guys want to dive into some program or copy an advanced weight lifters routine thinking, "If I train like him, I'll look like him." Not necessarily the case... Remember your a beginner and need to stick to the basics. Even the guys you want to be like had to start somewhere. Find out what your goals are, do some research on programs that will help you achieve that goal and get after it.
Good Luck!
-DJ Krueg
Form: Whether your doing barbell curls or squats, you need to learn how to execute proper form. If you don't, your just risking injury and not training the muscle properly. If your not sure your doing the exercise right, ask a personal trainer to watch you, read an article or book on how to perform an exercise or watch videos of experienced lifters or trainers. Its about training smart.
Weight: Some beginners jump into the gym and start throwing on more weight than they can handle and end up getting hurt or plateau quickly. If you cant control the weight and maintain good form, its probably too heavy. As a beginner you need to start out light, learn how to do the exercise and do it the right way.
Training to failure: You don't need to train to failure all the time. If you train to failure all the time and are missing lifts, your just beating yourself down and most likely loosing strength. Its okay to push yourself time to time but, you want to feel empowered and confident after training.
Rest: Rest is also important. Some guys think they need to train 5-6 days a week because thats what some advanced bodybuilder is doing or what some muscle magazine tells you. As a beginner you only need to train 3 days a week and try to get 8 hours of sleep.
Changing your routine: Too many guys are switching up their routine every week, month, or every X amount of time thinking they will plateau if they dont switch things up. Beginners seem to have A.D.D. and screw everything up by wanting to change or add things because they saw someone else doing something. Stick to the program for atleast 4 months so you can actually see some results and learn what works for you. You wont know that if your constantly changing things.
Training Methods: You hear about; Forced Reps, Partial Reps, Negatives, 21's, Stripping, Supersets, Staggered Sets, and ect. Basically techniques for experienced lifters and really arent for beginners. If you want to get better at something, keep working hard at it!
Progression: Some guys have been Benching, Pressing or Squating the same amount of weight for months or years and never try to progress and usually look the same week after week. If you want to "Shock" your muscles, keep growing and getting stronger. You need to increase the weight. Try adding 5lbs to your lifts each week.
Intensity: Some guys just arent training hard enough. Get focused, squeeze the sh!t out the bar, psyche yourself up, get motivaded. I see some guys in the gym that look like their just doing motions. Get serious about your training. But, don't be the annoying guy screaming every rep of a bicep curl... Some grunting is ok.
Diet: This will vary on the person and what their goals are. But, if your skinny or arent seeing much muscle growth. Your not eating enough food or your not getting enough protein. You need 1-2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. If your trying to gain weight you should eat 3500-4000 calories a day.
Choosing a program: Alot of guys want to dive into some program or copy an advanced weight lifters routine thinking, "If I train like him, I'll look like him." Not necessarily the case... Remember your a beginner and need to stick to the basics. Even the guys you want to be like had to start somewhere. Find out what your goals are, do some research on programs that will help you achieve that goal and get after it.
Good Luck!
-DJ Krueg