A blog about my life, fitness and fun! (...and maybe a few cat pictures...)

A blog about my life, fitness and fun! (...and maybe a few cat pictures...)

Friday, October 10, 2014

Trainer Tip: 5 Weight Training Mistakes

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I'm starting a new series... Trainer Tips! I will try to do it weekly, but no promises! I do not like to be beholden to a blog schedule, and I already have Sunday Funday (Sundays) and Weekend Wrap Ups (Mondays). I am a commitment-phobe and I don't want to dedicate another day to something specific... so you will just have to be surprised when I decide to share a Trainer Tip with you! Now, ONWARD!


If you want a safe and effective workout, 
do not make these mistakes!


1. Using momentum.

When you use momentum while lifting weights, you're giving your muscles a break. It's cheating! Don't let momentum take over when the going gets tough.


2. Engaging the wrong muscles.

When you're doing an exercise, think about what muscles you are targeting. Focus on those muscles alone. I constantly have to watch myself on this one when I'm doing bicep curls, I have to be careful not to engage my shoulders. I think it is the body's natural tendency to try to make something less uncomfortable, so just be aware.


3. Sloppy form.

Sloppy form can lead to injury. It is also ineffective to do an exercise without the proper form. Choose a weight in which you can perform all of your reps with correct form. Looking in the mirror also helps. One of the drawbacks of working out at my house is that I don't have the full length mirrors that the gym has!


4. Not using the right amount of weight.

Many people do not use the right amount of weight. If you can do 25 reps of something, your weight is way too light! If you're looking for overall muscular endurance/fitness, aim for 12-15 reps. Once 15 reps is easy, you need to increase the amount of weight. On the other hand, I see many people at the gym who use too much weight. They have sacrifice their form to to be able to throw the heavy weights around. Not good. Who cares if you can squat 3,000 lbs if you are doing the exercise wrong? Only use the amount of weight that allows you to properly perform the exercise.


5. Not letting your muscles rebuild via rest and nutrition.

If your goal is to get stronger and build muscle, the quickest and most effective way to do that is to eat protein after a lifting session and REST your muscles. If you run after you lift, you are not giving your muscles the opportunity to rebuild. I never run on leg day. In an ideal world, I wouldn't even run the day after leg day. But I am not perfect.

Are you guilty of any of these mistakes?
Do you have any mistakes to add to the list?

17 comments:

  1. I have absolutely terrible posture, so when I lift, I have to be very, very conscious of my form. I'm also with you on the bicep curls. It's so easy to let your shoulders help out.

    Thank you for the nice compliment on my race recap! You are too sweet. And you're extremely pretty too!

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    1. I think I have bad sitting posture. I never sit up straight unless I'm singing!

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  2. Thanks for the reminders! So important to focus on quality of lifting.

    I would say the biggest mistake I have made in the past regarding weight training was not doing it at all! Luckily, that was about 3 years ago and since then I make sure to weight train 2-3 times per week (full body each session).

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    1. OMG not weight lifting is probably the BIGGEST mistake! I should have thought to include it. :)

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  3. I think it is really helpful to have someone else with lifting experience nearby when you're going for max lifts. For me (and I can't be the only one!!!) my form is most likely to break down when going for a new max so having someone there to make sure it's all good is helpful. I always have Adam spot me and check out my form - esp. for chest press because my arms really want to do all the work!

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    1. You are so lucky to have Adam to help you! I don't have any gym buddies so I am usually afraid to add the higher weight. Though I am very proud when I do it. I just have to be really confident or I will drop it. Would be waaaay better to have a spotter!

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    2. Ok, well when we both move to Colorado I will spot you ;)

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  4. My biggest mistake in weight training is not doing it often enough! I always say, "next training cycle I will do more..." yet I never do!

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    1. It is definitely a hard habit to get into. But there are fun ways to do it! I enjoy writing programs for people who don't like it... throwing in fun stuff to make it not so boring!

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  5. Over the past # of years I know that I have committed all of those mistakes but I've gotten a lot smarter with my training. My biggest mistake used to be in thinking that I couldn't lift heavy - so glad I got past that one!!!

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    1. Yes that is a good one to get over! My biggest mistake is not starting weight training sooner. I never realized how beneficial it would be!!!

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  6. I need to put some more weight on my Dumbbells, but it's so much trial and error. Add 2 pounds? Add 5? I wish I could,customize them down to the ounce lol!

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    1. I gotcha covered Ali. If you are going for muscular endurance, you should aim for 12-15 reps of an exercise. The last 3 reps should be very difficult. Once you are lifting a weight that you can easily bang out 15 reps, increase the weight so that it is difficult to get those 12 reps. (Difficult, but can still use proper form, etc.) Soon, that new weight will become easier and you will be able to do 15 reps of it and it will be time to increase again.

      So now, how much to increase? Well, it is recommended to increase by about 10%. (A small amount so you don't injure yourself.) Now, sometimes that is hard to do EXACTLY because we don't have the exact amount. So just do trial and error for a moment. Sometimes I think I wait too long to increase weight because I don't feel entirely confident that I can lift more. In my head, I feel like I need to increase by 5lbs so it to be worth it. But really, I could be increasing in smaller increments- like 2.5 lbs. I hope this helped, Ali!

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  7. I think that is a good idea. If you are in between weights and don't have the right "increments" of weight to use, doing heavy and then dropping a little sounds like a great way to work around it!

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  8. Just to sound totally stupid...lol...What do you mean about using 'momentum?'

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    1. Like with certain exercises, you can go so fast and kind of swing the dumbbells and use momentum rather than slow and controlled.

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