Five Mistakes to Avoid at the Gym.
As we told you last night, today we are lucky to have a new guest poster and his name is Todd Boyer. You have probably seen his name a few times if you browse through the comments. Todd is one of the largest contributors to comments in the past month here at MOB and for that we thank him.
We are very blessed to have a few physical fitness experts, lending us a hand with their knowledge, to help us guys out in regards to physical fitness. Kevin Sanders over at Strong and Fit has also been writing great posts. All of the men’s physical fitness posts are overwhelmingly popular. We hope we can get both of these great guys to keep adding new content here for your reading pleasure and knowledge. And please don’t forget to visit them at their blogs, where you can find out everything you need to know about getting and staying in shape.
Here is a quick bio about Todd: Todd Boyer blogs about fitness at PhitZone. He has over twenty years of exercise experience, and is currently working towards becoming a Certified Personal Trainer. You can also follow Todd on Twitter @PhitZone.
Five Mistakes To Avoid
Do you make these mistakes at the gym?
From pet peeves to technical errors-do you make these mistakes at the gym?
Talking - You’re at the gym, busting butt in the squat rack-really moving some weight. For some reason, some dude decides that he’s going to come over and strike up a conversation. I hate this. I’d rather wipe up some jerk’s sweat off of a bench than to be interrupted to talk about last nights game.
Don’t get me wrong, I like to socialize as much as the next person. Just don’t bug me while I’m in the middle of training. That’s my time. Leave me be.
Flirting??
House cleaning – Your mom doesn’t work at the gym. And if she does, she still doesn’t want to clean up after you. When you’re done, put the weights away. And for the love of Pete, wipe the sweat off of the bench. You might as well be leaving pee on the toilet seat. Don’t even get me started on that subject!
Kepp It Neat
No warm up/cool down – This isn’t an etiquette thing. This is just flat out good advice. Before you start cranking out sets on the bench press, hop your butt up on a bike for 5 minutes to get the juices flowing.
When you’re done doing curls for the girls, but before you head off to the locker room, do another five minutes on the bike or treadmill to cool down. This will help bring your heart rate back inline, and work the lactic acid out of your muscles.
Warm Up, Cool Down
Poor form – How many times have we seen that idgit doing a half assed job in order to move more weight? Most recently I witnessed a guy doing cable triceps extensions. I could only shake my head. He was using the whole stack. Impressive, no?
This guy had THE worst form I had ever seen. He wasn’t extending all the way, his stance was awkward to say the least, and he was rocking to use momentum to complete the lift. He was getting little to know benefit for this effort. Not to mention the fact that he was opening himself up to injury.
If you don’t know how to do something, step away from that piece of equipment. Find somebody that can help you. You will keep yourself, and in some cases other people safe. There is also the added bonus of actually accomplishing something positive, aside from an ego boost (and me not laughing at you).
Poor Form
Incorrect weight – In some ways this is related to the last one. If you haven’t seen this in person, go to youtube and do a search for “gym bloopers”. You are bound to find some genius on there trying to lift way more weight than they should ever dream of.
Do not be this dude. If you are going to push yourself, find a good spotter or two. This will help assure that you do not crush your windpipe or snap your spine.
This goes the other way also. There is no reason to do 20 reps with 5 lbs. dumbbells-by anybody.
Over Doing It
Over doing it – You do not have to run on a treadmill like a hamster for 90 minutes. You do not need to work on your biceps for an hour. Training like this will (notice I didn’t say “may”) lead to over training.
Be efficient with your workouts. Do what you have to do, and get out. A proper weight training session shouldn’t take more than 45 minutes. Using High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), you can do your cardio in 20-25 minutes. That’s it.
Look at that list. Now think to yourself-do you make these mistakes at the gym? To learn more and find out how to avoid these mistakes and also ask questions. Todd is always there to answer them for you. Just go here
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Posted by Todd Boyer
on Jan 16 2010 Filed under HEALTH, SELF HELP.
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Roschelle
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I pretty bad about not warming up. I never miss the cool down but my warm up is almost non-existent! I really need to work on that.
Great great post!!!
My recent post The Devil Addresses Pat Robertson…Personally….Sort of
Warm up, hell in NY no such thing as warming up, unless you own a sauna. But you should spend time to loosen up the old bones and especially the muscles.
Think I had a few typos in my previous comment. guess that's something else I need to start doing….proof reading!!!!
My recent post The Devil Addresses Pat Robertson…Personally….Sort of
Nevah worry about typos here, I am the Cing of tyypppooss
Hi Todd, that was one of my pet peeves, too, socializing at the gym. If I wanted to socialize I'd go down to my local bar here in the Philippines and down a few San Miguels. I went to the gym to work out and that was it. You have some excellent info, now I just have to find a gym in my little town. I do an hour of brisk walking in the morning, but miss lifting weights.
My recent post Enonomic Woes in San Miguel!
This was one of the reasons that made me put together a home gym. I only go to the public gym once in awhile, mostly for group classes. Can't do kickboxing at home… my wife kicks my ass. Just kidding… mostly. hehe
Keep an eye on our site. We're putting together a free workout that you could do at home with a few basic pieces of equipment.
My recent post The 10 best exercise tips ever
I have a GREAT home gym and it sits and collects dust. Damn I have to get motivated and away from this puter……
I'm looking forward to a real home gym one day. I love personal space and not seeing other people so this is ideal. Although I used to do group workouts with yoga & kickboxing, seeing the extra bodies just peeve me nowadays.
Donate your home gym to me, Glenn lol. SIgh!
My recent post A Warning Sign
OK it yours, except the computerized thread mill, that thing is to much damn fun. Not sure how much it will cost thou to ship it to AU. Or you can come and get it, up to you
~
I want to see pictures of you working out now Dave. You can post them on your blog, when you get up at 4 am with the roosters
First, Glenn, thank you for the kind words, and the opportunity to contribute.
Roschelle, proof reading is good. Nothing like hitting the Submit button only to realize what you've done. I've never done that before…
You're not alone. Sadly it's not unusual for people skip a warm up or cool down. I don't think that they realize how important that it is. With that said, I would urge you to do it. You will feel the difference.
My recent post The 10 best exercise tips ever
Hope to have you participate more and more. I know it's a win win for us both and the readers who get the best part of it.
'
Those are some pretty good advice. I've seen some of my friends got injured because of over-doing their fitness
My recent post Creating Online Dating Relationships: Remember Safety First
Thank you. I think that we've all seen (or maybe done it ourselves) people trying to lift too much. For me, it wasn't lifting too much. Instead, I got sloppy with my form. Bad idea when doing dead-lifts.
My recent post Stop wasting your time-Lift weights to make real progress
The guy in the picture who was dead lifting was 72 years old, I hope he made it to 73. I agree proper form is of utmost importance.
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[...] Five Mistakes to Avoid at the Gym. (man-over-board.com) [...]
Sometimes I find that socializing is a nice way to give me a short break in between sets. If I am going pretty heavy I am resting a few minutes in between sets anyway, so sometimes I like the distraction. Other times, I agree with you. Especially with those guys who live at the gym and come in there only to socialize. It can get really annoying.
My recent post Casting Calls
Let's face it, men and women, socialize whenever the opportunity presents itself. The key is to know for how long. In the gym, I think is a great opportunity, as long as you take it to the side away from people intent on solitude. Thanks for the post and welcome to MOB.
[...] Five Mistakes to Avoid at the Gym. (man-over-board.com) [...]
[...] Five Mistakes to Avoid at the Gym. (man-over-board.com) [...]
[...] Five Mistakes to Avoid at the Gym. (man-over-board.com) [...]
[...] Five Mistakes to Avoid at the Gym. (man-over-board.com) [...]
Everyone is going through an over workout fad. Keep it simple, do what’s natural.