Mistakes and misunderstandings of weightlifting

Weightlifting is very important to have in your fitness routine. It helps with muscular strength, stronger bones, builds lean muscle mass and decreases fat mass, and could also help with the posture of the body. Combine that with good nutrition, stretching, and cardio and you will get the results you want quicker as opposed to doing just one of the four. The only thing with weightlifting is people tend to make mistakes and misunderstand it. Here are some mistakes and misconceptions people make with weightlifting.

Problem 1: You're weight hasn't changed since you started.
Answer: That's nothing to worry about because your body is adding muscle mass and burning the fat. It won't be huge bulky muscle so women, don't be afraid you'll get big. When you start weightlifting, don't even go by the scale. To measure your results, go by the way your clothes fit or use a measuring tape.

Problem 2: The same muscles are trained in two or more consecutive days.
Answer: For your muscles to recover and grow they need rest. Some believe your muscle grow in the gym but the truth is you're breaking the muscle down when you are lifting so when you go home and rest, the muscle grows. Of course you will need good nutrition as well for the muscle to grow. You can mix your muscle groups up any way you want. You could train your pulling muscles (back, biceps) one day, pushing muscles the next day(chest, triceps, and shoulders), and then the next day train legs then have the next day off as a rest day then repeat the cycle.

Problem 3: You use the same routine.
Answer: Always change up your routine. Don't stick to the same exercises, machines, repetitions, and even order of your workouts. I've seen people where I could tell you exactly what workouts they will do in the exact order. By doing that, you will become bored and could possibly lose interest in lifting. And the more you change up your routines, the better your muscles will respond and grow. Try to trick your body by changing your routines every two-four weeks. Try switching from free weights to machines for certain exercises or hire a trainer to plan your workout for you.

Problem 4: You don't use proper form with the exercise.
Answer: A lot of people make this mistake because either they are just worried about getting a weight up to impress someone or they don't know the proper technique for the exercise in which they should hire a trainer to help critique their form. Improper form could lead to many different injuries. Always keep your abs tight when performing an exercise and don't swing or arch your back. If in doubt, ask a trainer at your gym.

Problem 5: You let your ego take over.
Answer: People like to impress others with how much weight they do even if it is done with terrible form. Not only could that lead to injury but it also won't help you at all with muscular strength at all. A lot of people swing the weight up while performing biceps curls and act like they are strong for doing a certain weight. The truth is, it wasn't your biceps that lifted the weight, it was your whole body. Do a weight where you can keep good form throughout the entire set and focus on the muscle contractions. If you could do extra repetitions than you were aiming for, increase the weight slightly. Don't increase the weight too much each set. Like if you were doing bench press, you should add about five pounds each set unless your last set was very easy then you could try to add 10. Always leave your ego at the door when you come into the gym.

Problem 6: You think weightlifting itself will help you achieve all of your fitness goals.
Answer: It will help but you need to add cardio into your program to help with fatburning, and heart health as well. You could walk, run, cycle, and even boxing. It is best to do cardio after you have weightlifted because you will be burning fat if it's done after. You should also consider changing your diet around too by eliminating junk foods and replacing it with healthier foods. And add some stretching in to help with flexibility and lower your chances of injuries. It could also help improve posture as well. You should stretch in the beginning or the end of the session and could even stretch in between sets to get the knots out of the muscles. Be sure you got blood flow going through the muscles before you stretch.

Problem 7: You don't warm up before you lift.
Answer: The point of warming up is to get some blood flow to your muscles and to lubricate your joints to prepare them for lifting. Many people have different ways of warming up. Some run for five minutes then stretch. Some people would do a couple of light sets of the exercise they were going to do before they do their heavy (working) sets.

Problem 8: You don't finish your workout with a cool-down.
You want to cool-down to lower your heart rate and to prevent any pooling of the blood, which could lead to dizziness or lightheadedness. Walking is a great way to cool down. After about 5-10 minutes of walking, follow up with some stretching and hold each stretch for 10-20 seconds.


Problem 9: You lift weights everyday.
As said before, your muscles need rest. You should take at least one to two days off during the week. Weightlifting everyday could lead to over training. You will know you're over training if you notice your muscular strength decreases, blood pressure increases, you lack motivation to workout, and you may experience problems sleeping. Be sure to take a couple days off during the week and if you are a really hardcore fitness person, you could go for a little walk on the days you take of from weightlifting so you're getting some exercise in.

Problem 10: You think because you are lifting, your results will come within a few weeks.
Not true. It could take anywhere from a 1-3 months before you see any results. Everyone's body is different so if you hear someone say it only took them a month to notice results, it doesn't mean it will take you a month to notice results. Just be patient and stay motivated and your results will come. Pay attention to your clothing measurements to see your results and listen to what certain people say. The chances are the people that see you everyday won't see as much of a change in you as opposed to people who see you once in a while. The ones who see you less will notice your change the most. And don't forget to see if you have increased in lifting weights as well to see your strength gains too.