Top 5 Biggest Mistakes Beginners Make

By: Sebastian Biernat // @sebastianbiernat

1)      Not Perfecting Form and Lifting too Heavy

This may be an obvious one, but I see beginners all the time training with bad form. My theory is that beginners get intimidated by the other gym goers and believe that they should be lifting higher weights. In turn, they sacrifice their form for lifting heavier, this is problematic for many different reasons:

·         More prone to injury

·         Creating bad habits

·         Not working muscle effectively.

Beginners should be dedicating the first few months of lifting to develop good habits and learn the proper way to workout, whether that’s hiring a personal trainer or watching instructional videos on YouTube. New lifters should prioritize perfecting form with light weights until they get comfortable lifting heavier.

2)      Looking to cut too soon

Another mistake beginners tend to make is they look to cut too early.  Cutting is a method of shedding excess fat that in turn, develops lean muscles. If muscle building is your number one priority you shouldn’t even look to lose weight within the first two years of lifting. In the first 2 years of working out, you grow what is called “newbie gains” which means you will make tremendous progress and muscle gain within the first 24 months of lifting. Since muscle growth is maximized when being in a caloric surplus then why look to slow down the progress? You’re missing out on the potential to grow the most amount of muscle if you cut too early.

If you are a beginner and your number one priority is to lose fat, then this doesn’t apply to you. If you are still in your first 2 years of training, it is possible to gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously.  You can do this by lifting weights and being in a small caloric deficit.

3)      Neglecting Muscle Groups

Your body is like a car, if you don’t have all the parts put in place then the car will not work properly. Training all the muscle groups is key to maximize muscle growth/strength and minimize the risk of injury. There are lots of neglected muscle groups that beginners don’t train for example rotator cuff, rear deltoid, forearms, obliques, calves, etc. Make sure your workout split covers each muscle and don’t forget to stretch!

4)      Not Training till Failure

This isn’t just directed to beginner lifters but more advanced lifters as well, Training till failure is a huge component of hypertrophy. Many beginners go to the gym, go through the motions, go home, and wonder why they aren’t seeing results. On top of other things, training till failure should be part of your workout routine, whether it’s including drop-sets or supersets, they should be included in your workouts to maximize muscle growth. You won’t see astonishing progress by just counting repetitions and going through the motions. Challenge yourself every workout!

5)      Nutrition

Nutrition is a huge aspect of fitness, whether you’re looking to gain muscle or lose fat. Nutrition is the most important part. You need to eat the right foods to fuel your workouts and recover your muscles properly. If you’re looking to lose fat, instead of looking to join a  Zumba class 3 days a week; get your nutrition in check first. There are multiple websites that will calculate what your maintenance calorie intake should be, track your calories for one week and see how you are eating and adjust accordingly. If you want to lose weight/fat, you need to be in a caloric deficit (negative). If you are looking to gain weight/muscle, you need to be in a caloric surplus (positive). Make sure you’re hitting your calories everyday, consisting of the right amount of macronutrients and micronutrients.