Ten Common Bodybuilding Mistakes

[Curt James]

Lee Labrada Talks About Ten Common Bodybuilding Mistakes That Can Slow Muscle Building Down



Published on Mar 4, 2013

Ten Common Bodybuilding Mistakes

1. Not Training Hard Enough -- You may think you're training hard enough, but are you really pushing it on each set? If you're not pushing yourself to the point where you cannot perform another repetition on each set, you're not training hard enough. In order to stimulate muscle growth, you have to push each muscle group to the point that it fails, i.e., where you cannot perform any additional unassisted repetitions. It is at this point that your brain receives a signal from the muscles indicating that it needs to stimulate additional muscle growth in preparation for the next bout of exercise.

Your goal throughout your workout should be to progressively fatigue the target muscle group more and more with each succeeding set, until you reach point where that muscle group is totally fatigued. This is called training to failure. Unlike other failures in life, this is a good failure to have because it signals growth. In between sets, you should rest only long enough to catch your breath, which will give your body the ability to cancel the oxygen deficit that builds up during each set.

Once you have caught your breath, it's time to go on. This leaves very little time for chatting with friends in the gym or indulging in other distractions. It should be your goal to get into the gym, get the job done and get out. Do not mistake training hard with training for a long time. It's not the amount of time you spend in the gym that counts, it's the quantity and quality of the work you put in. Keep the intensity high and keep the growth coming.

2. Training Too Long -- A good rule of thumb is to train intensely, limiting the work out for each muscle group to 20-30 minutes. Get in the gym, get the job done, and get out.

3. Eating Too Much --

4. Not Resting Enough -- Too much of a good thing can hurt you. Training is wonderful, but you have to be able to recover from it. You must rest at least 72 hours in between large body parts and at least 48 hours in between small body parts to fully recover.

5. Not Sticking to Basic Exercises -- In bodybuilding, the steady ship wins the race. Stick to basic heavy exercises such as squats, dead lifts, bench presses, and military presses as the foundation of your training at all times.

6. Lack of Motivation -- In order to succeed, you must be a person who is able to perform hard work repeatedly over a long period of time.

7. Not Setting Goals and Timelines --

8. Not Competing -- Not everybody wants to become a competitive bodybuilder. Competing bodybuilders are those who enter bodybuilding competitions such as those sanctioned by the NPC around the country. But there are other ways of competing that don't involve stepping onto the posing dais. You should compete against yourself at least once per year. But if not on the contest stage, then how do you compete against yourself? Quite simply, set a 10-12 week timeline to get into the best condition possible. During this time, commit to restricting your calories and increasing your aerobic activities and training to shed excess body fat, just like you would if you were competing against others in a bodybuilding show.

9. Skipping Workouts -- If you want to grow, consistency is the key.

10. Failing to Expand Your Horizons -- Keeping your workouts fresh not only helps you to develop more muscle in but also keeps the workouts interesting, an important factor in keeping your motivation high.

Bodybuilding is a journey. It takes time to do it right and learning how to identify and avoid these common pitfalls can speed you along your way. Take stock of your workout, nutrition and rest habits today and challenge yourself to improve. By doing so you can bet that you will improve your physique.

[weezer]

11. You should buy MY supplements and one others......

[Curt James]

11. You should buy MY supplements and one others......

None other?

But, yeah, I deleted a LOT of links from that numbered list. lol

[weezer]

Sorry for the mis-spelling, but his supps are very good.

[Curt James]

I agree! Wasn't teasing you about spelling. My apologies. Was just commenting on all the links that I saw in that video description. Labrada has a great line of products and he is, of course, a legend in the sport.