The 10 Training Mistakes That Are Holding You Back

Are you struggling to make progress in the gym? Then you’ll want to read this article..

Imagine this, you’ve been training hard for several years now:

You visit the gym six times a week.

You take every supplement under the sun; including your protein powder and creatine, like any good lifter.

You track macros like it’s your second job.

 

Despite all this you still look the same as you did last year!

Were you not training enough?

Eating enough?

So many questions but not enough answers..

There is nothing worse than putting in the work and getting nothing in return!

I know how frustrating this can be, progress never came easy to me and I’ve wasted years of lifting because of bad training and nutrition advice.

If you can relate to the struggle then fear not, in this article I will be going through all the potential mistakes you could be making and providing the solutions.

Mistake #1: Not Prioritizing Strength Gains

Want to know a little secret? Your body doesn’t care about looking good on the beach..it cares about SURVIVAL.

Muscle growth is a byproduct of strength and if you aren’t improving workout to workout you won’t see an ounce of muscle gain.

Bodybuilding magazines have been promoting light weight high volume routines for years, the problem is they are virtually useless for natural lifters.

Don’t get me wrong, high rep work has it’s place in a well written program but the majority of you need to be focusing on building a strength foundation first.

Now, before you give me examples of individuals who have built great physiques using ‘pump’ training exclusively, consider the following:

• Are they are genetic outliers who respond particularly well to this type of training?
• Do they have great muscle insertions/small joints that make them appear larger than they actually are?
• Have they already built a foundation of strength?
• Are they using performance enhancing drugs?

Strength is directly correlated with muscle growth, this is a FACT.

The Solution:

Follow a novice program such as starting strength or a 5×5 routine, I also have my own novice program located on my site.

Make sure you follow the program as written and don’t  modify anything!

Mistake #2: Not Eating Enough Calories To Support Muscle Growth

Nutrition plays an important role in the muscle building process and therefore you can’t overlook it.

This rule applies to everyone but it is especially true for those of you outside the novice phase.

Once you hit the intermediate stages of your lifting career you will find it increasing difficult to gain strength in a calorie deficit.

This can be explained by the first law of thermodynamics which states energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

In simple terms building muscle or losing weight is all about the energy balance.

If you want to lose weight then you simply eat less calories than your body burns.

If you want to gain weight (build muscle) then you must consume a greater amount of calories than your body burns.

This isn’t to say that you can’t build muscle and burn fat simultaneously… but the process is VERY slow.

A recomposition is performed by cycling calories throughout the week between a slight surplus on training days and a deficit on non training days.

Simply eating at maintenance calories will not work and progress will be so slow that you would most likely get discouraged.

The solution:

Step 1. Figure out your TDEE

Step 2. Add 200 calories to that number (surplus)

-OR-

Step 3. Add 200 calories to that number on training days and subtract 200 on your off days (recomposition)

Mistake #3: Dirty Bulking

On the flip side we have dirty bulking.

Despite what you may think, dirty bulking is not categorized by what you eat but by how much you eat.

On a typical lean bulk  you would gain roughly 0.5 lb a week  (2lb per month) whereas a dirty bulking phase consists of gaining over a 1lb per week (4lb per month).

The principle behind dirty bulking is ‘ more equals better’ but there are several problems with this approach:

• Research has found that 0.5lb a week of muscle gain is the natural limit, gaining any more than this is counterproductive and will result in excessive fat gain. (Check out the table below)

Lyle Mcdonald’s Model:

• Not to mention that being overweight carries inherent risks for health.
• Any extra muscle mass you gain will be lost during the successive months of dieting.
• Increased adipose tissue is correlated with plummeting testosterone rates.
• Fat cells shrink but don’t ‘disappear’, making it easier to get fat in the future!

Some have argued that dirty bulking can have advantages over lean bulking, such as improved leverages and increased recovery.

However given the numerous health risks of excessive fat gain I don’t think this is a worth tradeoff.

The solution:

Stay away from dirty bulking, instead stick to a slow and steady lean bulk.

Aim for no more than 0.5 pound per week weight gain.

Mistake #4: Staying Too Lean Year Round

With the rise of social media, there is enormous pressure to look as good as possible.

The ‘shredded’ physique is often idolised in these circles and you rarely see the promotion of general health and strength.

The problem with being too lean (sub 10% bf) is that it can have a wide variety of negative side effects including:

• Low libido due to decreased testosterone production.
• Flat and stringy appearance in clothing as a result of depleted glycogen stores.
• Worse leverages for lifting heavy weights.

If your main priority is building muscle and strength then it is counter-intuitive to be ‘shredded’ year round.

The solution:

Keep bodyfat levels in a moderate range of 10-15%, by doing this you will maximise leverages for heavy lifting and have adequate recovery to make optimal gains in the gym.

Mistake #5: Not Periodizing Your Program

As a novice lifter gains come quick as the body is hyperresponsive to the training stimulus.

The majority of the gains made in your first few months of lifting are neurological adaptations in the form of :

• Intramuscular coordination: ‘In a sedentary person, when motor neurons discharge their electrical impulses, they do so in a disorderly fashion. The muscle fibres contract in a random, and therefore inefficient, way. Through training, these discharges become synchronized. The fibres begin contracting in a coordinated manner’.
• Becoming more efficient in movement patterns: The more frequently you practise a lift, the more proficient you will become. Who do you think will have the better technique, the person who squats 1x per week or 4x per week? This is mainly down to technical improvements in form such as learning to break at the hips and breathing/bracing correctly.

Although strength is a predecessor of muscle growth, as a novice you won’t see much in the way in physical change until these neurological adaptations have occurred.

The upside to this is that you can practically add weight every single time you step into the gym  as a beginner, there is no complex programming required.

Sadly linear progression has to come to an end however or we would all be bench pressing 2000lbs.

Many guys make the mistake of running these basic minimalist programs when they have tapped out their newbie gains and they simply remain stagnant for years.

There are genetic outliers who can carry on progressing in a linear fashion well into the advanced stages..but let’s face it, if you are reading this article then the chances are you aren’t one of them.

The typical benchmarks for intermediate strength are:

• A 102.5kg/225 lb bench
• A 142.5kg/315 lb squat
• A 182.5kg/ 405lb deadlift

If you are nearing these numbers and have plateaued several times then it is a large indicator that you need to start periodizing your workouts.

What is periodization?

In it’s simplest form, periodisation refers to a method of organizing training or dividing different stressors (volume, intensity).

By doing this we can avoid the biological law of accommodation, where an organism ceases to adapt to it’s environment (e.g. you aren’t adapting to training anymore).

I won’t go into too much detail on periodization as it’s another topic that requires a lot of information to cover, I highly recommend this article which explains everything in expert detail.

The solution:

When you have reached the intermediate phases (or when linear progress ceases) start periodising your workouts.

You have three options:

• Linear periodization
• DUP (daily undulating periodization)
• Concurrent/conjugate method- This is my preferred choice of periodization.

Mistake #6: Low Training Frequency

Frequency is the third training variable you need to manage in order to facilitate optimal progression (alongside volume and intensity).

Many lifters fall into the trap of running high volume body part split routines that have very low frequency.

They blast each body part with insane amounts of volume in a single session and call it a week, there is a huge flaw with this method however.

Muscle protein synthesis, the process in which muscle proteins are vitalised and used for the reparation of muscle tissue, is only elevated for 24-48 hours following a workout.

So essentially with a body part split routine your muscles are growing for 1-2 days out of the week..MAX.

You may be wondering why this works so well for professional bodybuilders..I mean they have great physiques right?

Well to put it bluntly, most professional bodybuilders take  anabolic steroids (shocking I know).

Steroids increase the muscle protein synthesis window from 24-48 hours to the entire week!

With this information it makes sense why pro bodybuilders would trash each muscle group in a single session and let it rest for the week.

For us mere mortals however, we need to prioritise frequency as a means of increasing protein synthesis.

The longer we can elevate protein synthesis in a given week, the higher the potential for muscle growth.

The easiest way to increase training frequency is switching to a fullbody split.

Fullbody training yields a 2-3x week frequency and you only need to workout  2-3 three days per week.

Compare this with a traditional body part split routine where you are required to train 5 days a week only to get a 1x week frequency per muscle group..it’s a no brainer!

Check out my guide to training splits for a more detailed explanation of why I think fullbody training is the most optimal way to train for drug-free lifters.

The solution:

Increase the frequency with which you work each muscle group, my recommendation is fullbody training (upper/lower routines are great aswell).

Mistake #7: Wasting Time + Money On Overrated Supplements

The supplement industry is worth billions and as you can imagine the products on offer are a mixed bag.

The biggest demographic of these companies is undoubtedly going to be novices to exercise and casual consumers who only have a passing knowledge of fitness.

Many people are duped into buying supplements that they simply don’t need.

As you can probably tell, I’m a supplement minimalist and  don’t believe they are necessary at all for building a great physique.

Some supplements can offer a minute competitive edge (1%) but these are far outnumbered by countless overhyped and dishonestly marketed products that line the shelves of supplement stores.

Supplements you should stay away from:

1. Testosterone Boosters: The main ingredients (Terrestris tribulus, D-aspartic acid, ZMA) have been proven to be ineffective for the purpose of raising testosterone. In addition to this, studies have shown small fluctuations in testosterone levels don’t have any bearing on your ability to build muscle mass. Take this research which showed increases in total testosterone levels of 1046 ng/dl were necessary in order to achieve median increases in lean body mass of 1.5 kg.
2. BCAA’S: If you are eating sufficient amount of protein (0.8g per 1lb) then the muscle building effects of BCAA’S become largely irrelevant, not to mention one of the ingredients valine, has no conclusive muscle building properties. BCAA’S do have a few benefits worthy of mention, they reduce DOMS delayed-onset-muscle-soreness) post workout, decrease perceived fatigue (no impact on actual performance) and increase fat oxidation.
3. Mass Gainer’s: In principle there is nothing wrong about taking a mass gainer, they do their intended job by providing a  high calorie liquid shake for those who struggle to gain weight. My problem with mass gainer’s is that there are far healthier and cheaper alternatives. Mass gainer’s are typically comprised of simple sugars (carbohydrates) that offer no nutritional value whatsoever, a much better alternative would be to blend oatmeal with some blueberries and a few tablespoons of peanut butter (voila! Your own mass gainer).

The solution:

Stick to supplements that have been backed through  scientific research, there are three supplements which I personally recommend:

• Creatine monohydrate (Improves strength performance)
• Beta alanine (Improves endurance)
• Protein powder (preferably whey or casein)

Mistake #8: Program Hopping

“It’s not what we do once in awhile that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”

― Anthony Robbins

Building a great physique takes time..a long time in fact.

If you are constantly seeking ‘the next best thing’ and switching your program every other week you won’t make any gains, you will be spinning your wheels in a vicious cycle.

Find a tried and tested strength training program and STICK WITH IT..

If you have changed your program several times in the past 6-12 months then consider the following:.

• Are you setting goals for yourself? (short-term, mid-term and long-term)
• Is your diet/recovery taken care of? I.e. are you making progress?
• Do you have exercise ADD? I,e, do you get bored of doing similar movements for a prolonged length of time?

The solution:

Set goals for yourself and ensure you are progressing at an optimal rate, for 99% of you this will take care of the issue completely.

If you are outside of the novice stages and aren’t interested in training ‘the big 3’ then DON’T train them.

Specificity of training is incredibly important for defining what you should be doing in your workouts, if you aren’t interested in becoming a powerlifter then why confine yourself to the bench,squat and deadlift?

This is why I am a fan of the concurrent style of periodisation, I love high exercise selection and this allows me to utilise lots of cool exercises to prevent training from becoming stale!

Mistake #9: Neglecting Cardio + GPP

If you ask a bodybuilder why he doesn’t do cardio the likely response you’ll receive is that “cardio kills gains”.

This isn’t a completely unjustified concern either as cardio can interfere with the strength training stimulus under certain conditions.

Cardiovascular work typically trains aerobic fitness whereas strength training conditions anaerobic fitness.

These are two different systems and criss-crossing them can lead to diminished returns for one or the other.

This is why I would highly advise against performing cardio directly before or after your weight training, ideally you would separate them into different days by performing cardio on your rest days.

Problems can also arise when you actively try to progress both at the same time, if your main priority is strength training then I recommend LISS (low intensity steady state) cardio as a way of improving general health and endurance without compromising your strength/muscle gains.

Now that we have established the do’s and dont’s of cardio, here are the reasons why you should include it alongside your training routine:

1. 1. It improves general health: Cardio has been associated with positive health benefits such as lower blood pressure and decreased mortality rates.
   2. It increases work capacity/endurance: Cardio can significantly improve work tolerance which is very useful for high volume training.
   3. Recovery: Cardio promotes increased blood flow through the muscles in addition to aiding recovery for sore muscles.

The solution:

• Include LISS cardio on off days 2-4x week.

• Stay away from HIIT training.
• An alternative method is GPP (general physical preparedness) that may have higher carryover to strength training. Some examples of this include farmer walks, sled pushes and tyre flipping.

Mistake #10: Going To Failure Too Often

If your training is reminiscent of a rocky montage every time you step foot in a gym then something’s going to give eventually.

Training to failure is extremely demanding on the CNS (central nervous system) and impacts recovery/strength for subsequent sessions in the week if done excessively.

As a general rule you should always leave a rep or two in the tank on your heavy compound lifts.

By doing this you will increase your total volume in a given session as well as improving recovery.

Think of it like a domino effect, every rep you grind here and there will  add up and eventually you will hit a brick wall in training and need to deload.

‘Grinders’ should be avoided as much as possible as it can teach the lifter faulty movement patterns that may lead to injury

The solution:

When calculating the weights you should be using relative to your one rep max try and be conservative, you want all reps to be as smooth and technically proficient as possible.

It is ok to go to failure every now and then (as long as it isn’t excessive), it’s also perfectly suited for high rep isolation movements.

The Bottom Line

In summary:

1. Focus on heavy compound lifting.
2. Make sure nutrition is on point by using the ‘recomp’ method or eating in a slight calorie surplus.
3. Avoid dirty bulking.
4. Maintain a healthy bodyfat %
5. Periodise your program (when you have tapped out linear progression)
6. Hit each muscle group at least 2x per week.
7. Avoid bad supplements (t-boosters, BCAA’S) and stick to scientifically backed supplements (creatine, beta-alanine).
8. Don’t switch programs too often.
9. Include cardio/GPP.
10. Leave a rep in the tank.

 

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