Are You Making These 5 Mistakes When Lifting Weights?
Remember that scene in Mighty Ducks where they’re practicing passing eggs back and forth, cradling the “puck” rather than slapping at it, truly concentrating on the task at hand? If you say no, then shame on you. For whatever reason, I thought of this scene yesterday at the gym as I watched everybody doing exercises improperly. When you’re at the gym, are you making these mistakes too?
- Using improper form to lift too much weight - Every day I see people lifting a weight that’s too heavy for them. When you have to swing your back into doing a bicep curl, maybe it’s too much weight. You need to focus on isolating the one particular muscle you’re currently exercising. If it’s a bicep curl, you shouldn’t be bending over, contorting your body to lift the weight. If it’s squats, you shouldn’t have back problems the next day if you did them correctly. If you can’t lift the weight with PERFECT FORM, it’s too much. Try this: decrease the weight, but focus on perfect form with slow controlled movements and you’ll get a much better workout.
- Using momentum to lift the weight – I saw a guy doing lateral shoulder raises with a crazy amount of weight…except that with each repetition he would literally swing the weight back and forth like a pendulum to complete the rep. I don’t think he actually used his shoulder at all in this shoulder exercise. A lot of the time you’ll see a guy doing a bench press and BOUNCE the weight off his chest to raise it back up to complete the repetition. If you have to swing the weight, it’s TOO MUCH. Try this: Concentrate on pausing slightly at the top and the bottom of the repetition so you aren’t using momentum. It’s better for you in the long run, trust me.
- Only focusing on one-half of the exercise – There are two parts to every lift: the concentric part (where you lift the weight), and the eccentric part (where you lower the weight). Most people only concentrate on the concentric weight, then drop the weight down and completely neglect the eccentric part of the lift. Don’t let this be you! Each part of the lift is equally important, and some studies have shown that actually the eccentric part is more important than the concentric when it comes to strength and muscle gains. Try this: concentrate equally on both aspects of the lift. Want to really work your muscles? With a spotter handy, concentrate on doing the eccentric part of the lift as slowly as possible to end your set. (Example: on a bench press, lower the last rep as slowly as possible towards your chest, and then have your spotter help you lift it back up).
- Lifting and lowering the weight too fast – If you’re doing Olympic lifting, it’s okay to aim for speed in your lifts. However, if you’re aiming for strength and muscle gains, focus more on slow repetitions. The slower you lift and lower the weights, the more muscle fibers are recruited for stabilization to keep the weights balanced. If you haul ass through the reps, your muscles barely have time to realize what the hell is happening before the set is done. Try this: instead, really focus on the muscle, take two or three seconds to lower the weight slowly and then explode up through as you raise the weight.
- Not breathing properly - Ever done a bench press and forgot to breath because you’re so focused on the lift? I definitely have, and I almost passed out. No matter how much or little weight you’re lifting, don’t forget to inhale and exhale with each repetition! Try this: inhale during the eccentric (lowering) part of the lift, and then exhale during the concentric (raising) part of the lift, with each rep.
There you have it. These are common mistakes that I see all day every day in the gym, and they’re causing people to not be nearly as effective in the gym as they could be. It’s not about how much weight you lift, its what you make of the weight you’re lifting (I just made that up! not too shabby). To summarize:
- Concentrate on isolating the specific muscle you’re working and use perfect form
- Focus equally on both halves of the lift,
- Avoid using momentum
- Don’t lift and lower the weight too fast – develop a count in your head.
- BREATHE!
If you can focus on these five things with each exercise, I guarantee you’ll get more out of each workout even if you’re lifting less weight. Plus, you’ll be far less likely to injure yourself. Win win!
-Steve
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