{"id":993,"date":"2014-01-15T09:54:24","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T16:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/?p=993"},"modified":"2022-02-17T12:59:20","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T19:59:20","slug":"the-5-biggest-workout-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/the-5-biggest-workout-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Biggest Workout Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

You won\u2019t see many non-trainers who think it\u2019s \u201cdifficult\u201d to create a workout. After all, when you look at the exercises in a program, it doesn\u2019t appear complicated: Take some movements, make sure they\u2019re balanced and work all your muscle groups, throw them together in an order that works the bigger muscles first, and there you have it: A completed workout.<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/i>Exercise science isn\u2019t rocket science, but it\u2019s still a science. Without knowing it, most people are making some of the biggest\u00a0workout mistakes. <\/i><\/p>\n

After all, there\u2019s a reason that some workouts\u2014while apparently similarly\u2014offer very different results. People who design programs for a living understand what works, and it\u2019s oftentimes not what you think. There are many relationships\u2014such as fatigue, force coupling factors, recovery, total work capacity, and many more (such as your performance goals)\u2014that play an under-appreciated role in great workout design.<\/i><\/p>\n

A good program strikes a balance between what you want to do and what you need to do, so you can keep training pain-free.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s why I turned to Sean Hyson, C.S.C.S., author of the 101 Best Workouts of All Time<\/a>. As the title would suggest, Sean has quite a bit of experience working with people who are known for designing incredible workouts. And as Fitness Director of Men\u2019s Fitness, he\u2019s seen a bit of everything. He identified some of the most common errors people make when creating workouts. -AB<\/i><\/p>\n

The 5 Biggest Workout Design Mistakes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Everybody wants to be his own personal trainer. You feel like nobody knows your body better than you do, so who better to figure out how to make it bigger, stronger, and leaner? The problem is that you are your own worst enemy, and your own ego, imagination, and preconceived notions of what it takes to change your body can hold back your progress (despite your \u201cinsider knowledge\u201d). But eventually, we all want to take the reins of our own training, so if you\u2019re going to do so, or already have, at least know the pitfalls to avoid.<\/p>\n

Mistake #1: Doing Way Too Much<\/h2>\n

This is easily the most prevalent and destructive problem among beginners and experts<\/em>. Sometimes you just can\u2019t imagine doing fewer than five sets for an exercise, when in reality (and especially for beginners) two or three is usually enough.<\/p>\n

The problem stems from the sport of bodybuilding, and the workout routines its champions\u2014who are always genetically gifted and often steroid-enhanced\u2014have made famous. Through magazines, other media, and pop culture, we\u2019re led to believe that if we want bigger arms, we need to do four different types of curls as a bodybuilder would do, using drop sets, taking each set to failure with a five-second negative, or some other advanced technique.<\/p>\n

The truth is, thankfully, building muscle is not that complicated. At least not for people in the early stages of their training or who have no plans to use performance-enhancing drugs. Look at how many sets, on average, some of today\u2019s most popular strength and physique coaches prescribe in a workout.<\/p>\n