The 5 Biggest Fitness Mistakes

How to fix your biggest blunders at the gym.
Posted by David Zinczenko on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 5:24 PM
Take a look around any gym, and you’ll see lots of mistakes. Stupid mistakes. Dangerous mistakes. And maybe worst of all, time-wasting mistakes. You may even be guilty of one or two yourself. Eliminate these common slipups, though, and you’ll not only reduce your risk of injury, but also speed your ability to burn fat and get fit. Here are the five biggest fitness blunders—along with the fixes you need for the results you want.

Mistake #1: You Don't Use a Training Log

Training logs aren't just for muscleheads. YMCA researchers found that 70 percent of exercisers who set goals stuck with their programs for the entire year. By contrast, three-quarters of those who didn't set goals dropped out. Keep it simple: Just write down the number of sets and repetitions and the amounts of weight you use, as well as the duration and distance of each cardio session, and your total exercise time. What’s more, this strategy works for dieting, too. University of Pittsburgh scientists found that people who wrote down the size of each meal (small, medium, large, XL) were just as successful at losing weight as those who tracked the specific foods, calories, and fat that ate.

Mistake #2: You Use Weights That Are Too Light

Ladies, I’m especially talking to you on this one. Your goal is to challenge your muscles, not just go through the motions. For instance, if you can lift a weight 15 times, it’s not going to do your muscles much good to lift it for only 8 repetitions. A good way to gauge if a weight is appropriate: Note the point at which you “start to struggle.” Let’s say you’re doing 10 repetitions. If all 10 seem easy, then the weight you’re using is too light. However, if you start to struggle on your tenth repetition, you’ve chosen the correct poundage.

What does “start to struggle” mean? It’s when the speed at which you lift the weight slows significantly. Although you can push on for another rep or two, the struggle indicates that your muscles have just about had it. This is also the point when most people start to “cheat” by changing their body posture to help them lift the weight. Remember, the idea is to complete all the repetitions in each set with perfect form, while challenging your muscles to work as hard as they can. Which brings me to the next mistake…

Mistake #3: You Use Weights That Are Too Heavy

Gentlemen, this is typically a manly mistake. It's a product of a male’s natural inclination to be better than the other guy. But the only way heavy weights benefit your end goal is if you lift them with proper technique. Simply choose the heaviest weight that allows you to complete all of the prescribed repetitions, which you can do by employing the start-to-struggle technique in Mistake #2. Of course, you may be tempted to cheat anyway. So to keep you honest, here are three signs you’re using too much weight.



You can't perform an exercise through its full range of motion. For instance, on a squat, you know you should lower your body until your thighs are at last parallel to the floor. But if you're using too much weight, you don't dare go down that low for fear of getting stuck, so you stop halfway and then return to the starting position.
You can't do your entire set without the help of a spotter. You should always have one on hand for your maximum-weight sets, but he's there for safety, not to actually help you perform your repetitions.
Your lower back arches like a sapling in a windstorm on bench presses and arm curls. If you have to change your body posture as you perform the exercise, you’re transferring the weight to muscles other than the ones you’ve targeted. And doesn’t that defeat the purpose?
Bonus Tip: For even more tips on perfect form, click here for the 100 greatest fitness tips of all time.
Mistake #4: You Do the Same Old Exercises

Gyms are filled with people who are still doing the same exercises they learned in their first workout program—no matter whether they learned them two months or two presidential administrations ago. But the truth is, all exercises have an expiration date. That’s the point at which when they start to lose their effectiveness. A general guideline: If an exercise uses more than one joint (for example, the bench press uses the shoulders and elbows; the squat uses the hips and knees), you can do it for 8 weeks before you should switch to another exercise for the same muscles. If it involves a single joint (biceps curl, triceps pushdown, lateral raise), find a substitute after just 4 weeks. Your alternative can be as simple as changing the type of grip you use, switching from a barbell to dumbbells, or lying on a Swiss ball instead of a bench.

Mistake #5: You Only Warm Up on a Treadmill

For most people, warming up means running on a treadmill or pedaling an exercise bike. And while a 10-minute aerobic workout is fine for warming your lower body muscles, a better approach is the one you first learned in grade school. When researchers at the United States Military Academy examined different methods of preparing for exercise, they found that first performing calisthenics—also known as dynamic stretching—helped people sprint faster, jump higher, and throw harder. The likely explanation: A dynamic warmup enhances nervous-system activity, which allows you to active more muscle fibers. So before you hit the weights, do 30 seconds each of jumping jacks, arm circles, pushups, lunges, and body-weight squats. You’ll instantly improve your workout—and as a result, your body.

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