Everyone wants to gain lean muscle, burn stubborn fat, and see results as soon as possible when it comes to working out. When you walk into a weight room, you're likely to encounter guys using the bad form or performing workouts that make you grimace. However, these two obvious mistakes are just two of the numerous ways you may go wrong in the gym.
It's difficult to set up a proper workout routine, let alone get the warm-up and all of the other elements right, with so many pieces of equipment to pick from. Although some of these mistakes may appear little, they can result in significant losses in terms of profits.
Even if you have the best of intentions, you might make some of the very common mistakes that limit your performance and put you at risk for injury. With heavyweights laying around, groups of people, and intense exercises, the gym can be a dangerous place.
There are many gym mistakes to avoid, that can help you to see results faster. Top fitness experts share the most common workout mistakes beginners make, that could be damaging your fitness goals, as well as how to avoid them:
7 Beginner Fitness Mistakes to Avoid
1. Overarching Back
While lifting large weights, no one wants to injure his/her back. Slightly arching the spine during workouts like squats and deadlifts is good form. However, the pendulum can swing the other way: excessively bending your lower back puts significant stress on the joints. This is the most common exercise mistake to avoid.
Squats and deadlifts aren't the only exercises that help. People frequently overextend their lower back to compensate for a lack of shoulder mobility, even when lifting weights overhead. Instead, engage your core and glutes to support your lower back and maintain a safe position.
2. Not Doing Full Range Motion
It's not only "cheating," but it's also harmful to your joints. If you don't move down parallel in a back squat, for example, you're keeping a lot of load on your knees instead of shifting it to the stronger muscles in your hips and glutes.
For each exercise, make sure to use the proper technique and range of motion. You'll get the most muscle-building benefits and properly strengthen your joints.
3. Beginner Lifting Mistakes – Using a “Suicide” Grip
The bench press is one of the most effective muscle-building exercises, but it's also one of the most dangerous. If you make a mistake, you risk putting too much weight on your ribs, neck, or (worst) face. That's why, while lifting heavy weights, having a spotter is necessary.
It's also critical to maintaining a proper grip on the bar. The "suicide grip," which involves placing your thumb behind the barbell, increases the chance of the barbell losing from your hold.
4. Removing Barbells
Perhaps you've seen it before, a man performing an incline bench press removes all of the weight from one side of the barbell. The bar begins to sway to the other side and is on the verge of tipping over when, mercifully, all of the plates fall from the opposite side and crash to the ground.
Don't let this happen to you. Always leave a 45-pound plate on one side of the barbell when removing the plates to act as a counterweight.
5. Not Using Weight Collars
It's difficult to execute big squats while also worrying about your plates moving around. As a result, weight collars and clips should be used at all times.
The barbell will move and the plates will shift no matter how good your technique is. Because of the lack of balance, the bar may flip up and injure you if a weight plate slips off. Weight collars are a simple way to prevent major damage.
6. Not Using Safety Bars
If the barbell is too heavy to squat, a safety bar can be installed in power racks to catch it. This should be used all the time. You never know when the bar will need to be emptied.
Set it at a position that's just a hair lower than your squat's bottom. You don't want to tap it while squatting because it will seriously disrupt your concentration and physical exercise.
7. Exercise in Busy Areas
Avoid exercising in regions where there is a lot of foot traffic AKA a place with too many people. You could not only hit someone, but someone could also hit you if they are not paying attention.
Since everyone is more focused on their workout, they may overlook you and unknowingly injure you with the weights they are using.
Always exercise in areas that have been allocated for this use. If you're doing a circuit of exercises, try to keep all of your equipment in the same area so that passersby don't disrupt your flow, take your weights, or bump into you.
Final Verdict
Any of the above mistakes can seriously injure you and delay your progress.
So try to avoid these mistakes and most importantly enjoy your workout.
But do not force yourself too hard.
Everyone is a beginner at the start so do not be shy to ask for help.
Always ask for help from the available trainer about the proper posture and how any exercise is done.
They can guide you so that the exercise you do has the greatest possible impact.
