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Bonehead workout mistake #5: Focusing on
strengths, favorite exercises and favorite body parts, neglecting weaknesses
Most people have a favorite body part or exercise. But playing favorites
in your training can lead to big problems. An unbalanced, asymmetrical
physique is one of them, but having a great upper body with toothpick legs
is the least of your worries. Strengthening and stretching some muscle
groups but not others is a great way to cause poor posture, muscular
imbalance, dysfunction, strains, pulls, tears or ruptures.
Kick butt
workout tip #5: Train for functional balance and aesthetic balance
Non-boneheads train every muscle group for symmetrical, visually pleasing
development. However, “balance” is more than cosmetic. Everyone – athletes,
bodybuilders, and recreational exercisers – must also train for functional
balance to prevent injury and maintain optimal function and range of
movement in every joint and muscle group. Every plane of movement and angle
of movement must be trained. Flexors must be balanced with extensors. Front
to back movements must be balanced with rotational and side to side
movements. Prime movers, antagonists and stabilizers must all be
strengthened. Always stretch, strengthen and build to the point of total
body balance. -----
Bonehead workout mistake #6:
Using mostly machines and single joint/isolation exercises
So you
joined the gym and you hit “the circuit”… you know, that section in the gym
with all those fancy, chrome-plated, “technologically advanced” weight
stack-pulley, hydraulic or computerized machines all lined up in neat rows…
far, far away from the barbells and squat racks (which you never touch), and
which is designed to give you an “easy, safe, injury-free, effective
full-body workout.” The machines may be easy, but most machines aren’t as
safe or effective as they’re cracked up to be.
Kick butt workout tip #6: Use mostly free weights and
compound, multi joint exercises
For lower body, squat and lunge
variations are tops. For upper body, barbell and dumbbell presses, chin ups
and rows are king. These and similar “BIG” exercises stimulate more muscle
fiber, stir up more fat burning and muscle building hormones, and have more
carry-over to real world and sporting activities than machines. Although
weight stack machines are safe with respect to the fact that you cant drop a
barbell on your head, they’re ultimately NOT as safe as free weights because
they don’t develop the stabilizing muscles and functional strength that
protect you from injury. A few machines and isolation exercises mixed in
your program is fine, but focusing on compound and free weight exercises
gives you far more bang for your buck than any machine ever created.
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Bonehead workout mistake #7: No mental preparation
This mistake goes hand in hand with mistake number one (winging it). You
see, preparation is more than setting goals, writing out plans, and
scheduling workouts. Preparation is also mental, yet most people haven’t the
slightest idea just how powerful the mind is or how to harness its power.
Psychologists and “brain scientists” have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt
that the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between an experience
that is real and one that is imagined. Failure to take advantage of this
discovery is a mistake of enormous magnitude.
Kick butt workout tip
#7: Use visualization and mental rehearsal daily
Arnold Schwarzenneger, Jack Nicklaus, Andre Agassi and countless
other sports legends have written and spoken extensively about their regular
use of mental imagery. Those who succeeded, but claimed not to use such
techniques as “visualization” were surely using it unconsciously or in a
non-formalized manner. I would suggest you consciously and deliberately use
this technique in the following manner: Twice a day, once in the morning and
once at night, get relaxed, close your eyes and form mental images of
yourself having the body you’ve always wanted, completing perfect workouts
with motivation and enthusiasm and reaching all your goals. These images
will penetrate your subconscious mind and literally program your brain to
activate your body for total success.
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Bonehead workout mistake #8: Not eating immediately
after training
Not eating anything after your workout (or waiting 2-3 hours to eat),
because (a) you don’t feel like eating, (b) you don’t have anything to eat
with you, (c) you heard that you get leaner if you don’t eat after your
workout… is one of the most boneheaded things you can ever do!
Kick
butt workout tip #8: Eat protein AND carbs (not just carbs) immediately
after your workout
Much research has been done on the topic of post
workout nutrition in recent years and the scientific literature is almost
unanimous in its findings: At one time carbohydrates were emphasized after a
workout. Other people insisted that protein is more important. The truth is,
the optimal post workout meal includes quickly digesting protein and
carbohydrates and is consumed immediately after training during the period
known as the “post-workout window of opportunity.” Although the ideal amount
and type of protein and carbs is still debated, the studies have shown that
proper post workout nutrition increases protein synthesis, suppresses
cortisol, replenishes glycogen, and enhances recovery.
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Bonehead workout mistake #9: Comparing yourself to others
Always trying to one-up the next guy is bonehead behavior. Comparing
yourself to others is a great way to lower your self esteem and stay
perpetually frustrated, unhappy and dissatisfied!
Kick butt workout
tip #9: Compare yourself to nobody but yourself
Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden always advised his players,
“Never try to be better than someone else; but never cease trying to be the
best you can be. That is under your control. The other isn’t.” So why not
focus on competing with yourself? Compare yourself to yourself.
Improve yourself. Work on progress and forward movement. Become better than
you used to be. Ultimately, competitive sports are most valuable to the
degree you use them to better yourself, not to beat others.
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Bonehead workout mistake #10: Making excuses
Many people, when they don’t get the result they want, or when things
don’t go the way they expect, insist it’s not their fault. When they don’t
lose any body fat, it’s their genetics or "The diet just doesn’t work!” When
they fall off the wagon, it’s their friends and family’s fault – “They just
don’t support me… they even tempt me with junk food and eat in front of me.”
When they miss workouts, it’s their boss’s fault – “I just don’t have time
with so much work being piled on me at the office.” No matter what the
situation, the boneheads never even consider that the problem is staring
right back at them in the mirror – someone or something outside of them is
always responsible.
Kick butt workout tip #10: Accept total, 100%
responsibility for all your results – good or bad
When you win, you
don’t attribute it to luck or give someone else the credit for it. You
proudly say, “I created it… I did it… that was me!” However, if you want to
take the credit for your wins, you must also take credit for your losses and
say, “Yep, I created it… I did it… that was me!” Boneheads want to take
credit for their successes but not accept responsibility for their failures.
Ultimately, that turns them into nothing but big losers. Winners and
successful people became successful because they learned three magic words:
I AM RESPONSIBLE. Once you claim responsibility for every result in your
life – the good and the bad - the feeling of empowerment and liberation that
comes over you is beyond description. For the first time in your life, you
realize that YOU are in control. From that moment on – and not a second
sooner – you become the creator of circumstance rather than a victim of it.
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Well, that’s all ten of em'. Let me wrap up with what is
perhaps the biggest mistake of all, and that is: Not learning from your
mistakes. Mistakes are okay. The only people who don’t make any are the
timid, wimpy people who don’t even attempt anything. If you realize you’ve
been making a lot of these mistakes, don’t beat yourself up. As long as you
learn from them and stop making them, you’re off the hook! But if you keep
repeating these mistakes over and over again, then it’s official: You’re a
bonehead!
Tom Venuto is a lifetime
natural bodybuilder, freelance writer, success coach and author of the #1
best-selling e-book "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM): Fat Burning
Secrets of the World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has written
over 170 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN Magazine, Natural
Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine, Olympian’s News (in
Italian), Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise. Tom's inspiring and
informative articles on bodybuilding, weight loss and motivation are
featured regularly on dozens of websites worldwide. For information on Tom's
"Burn The Fat" e-book, click here:
www.burnthefat.com. To subscribe to Tom's free monthly e-zine, visit the
Fitness Renaissance website here:
www.fitren.com/subscribe.cfm
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