Bonehead workout mistake #2: Repeating the same
workouts… without progressive overload
In one respect, repeating the same workouts is important
– it’s called “continuity.” Continuity
means that to experience an adaptive response (more muscle,
more strength, less fat and all that other good stuff),
you must repeat a certain modality or exercise consistently
over a long enough period of time to allow the adaptive
response to occur and to reap the full benefits (rather
than changing exercises at every workout). That type of
repetition is good. The bonehead mistake is when you do
the same exercises, same reps, same weight, same everything,
week after week, without ever challenging yourself to do
more than you’ve done before. If your muscles could
talk they would say, “Yawn…. Did that, done
that, been there… we’re just going to stay exactly
the way we are… no need to get bigger or stronger
today.”
Kick butt workout tip #2: Strive to beat your previous
workouts
Muscle growth and strength increases occur when you place
demands on your body above and beyond what it has experienced
in the past. Your body responds to this progressive overload
by getting stronger in order to handle this type of demand
in the future. Your objective at almost every workout is
to set goals to beat what you did during the previous one.
If you can’t add more weight, it could be as simple
as one more rep with the same weight or the same sets/reps/weight
in less time. It could also mean one more minute of cardio,
one level higher on a stairclimber, or half a percent steeper
incline on the treadmill. Continuous and never-ending improvement
is the name of the game.
Bonehead workout mistake #3: Starving yourself
A calorie deficit is the only way to lose body fat. However,
the caloric deficit must be kept small. When calories are
cut too much, or held too low for too long, your body thinks
you are starving and sets into motion a series of metabolic
and hormonal events, which ultimately result in muscle loss,
slow metabolism and plateaus. Your body is like a power
plant or furnace and when you don’t feed the fire,
your metabolic flame dwindles to a flicker, producing less
heat and less energy. That’s why not eating enough
is one of the biggest mistakes of all. As Charlie Remington
likes to say, “Food is not your problem, food is your
solution”
Kick butt workout tip #3: Eat more, burn more
Did it ever occur to you that if you exercise more you
can eat more? And that this is a more effective fat loss
strategy than eating less and exercising less? To lose body
fat, you must create a calorie deficit. A deficit can be
created by exercising more, eating less, or ideally, with
a combination of both. The best combination of all is a
small decrease in calories accompanied by a large increase
in activity. Think about it: Decreasing calories slows your
metabolism. Increasing calories increases your metabolism.
Exercise increases your metabolism. Therefore, eat more,
exercise more = double increase in metabolism. Eat less,
don’t exercise = double decrease in metabolism. Yes,
starving is for boneheads.
>>
Click here for Tom's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program
Bonehead workout mistake #4: Skipping scheduled
workouts
A great body doesn’t happen overnight. Successful
body transformation is the cumulative result of dozens or
even hundreds of successful workouts. Each workout brings
you one small step closer to your goal. Each workout missed
takes you one small step backwards. Most people underestimate
the cumulative effect of each small step. They figure that
“It just doesn’t matter… it’s only
one workout.” If you don’t think that one little
workout matters, then think about the humble termite; they’re
such itty bitty little creatures and they take such itty
bitty little bites, yet when enough little bites are taken,
an entire building can come crumbling down.
Kick butt workout tip #4: Be disciplined and consistent
Not only do you slip backwards physically when you skip
even one scheduled workout, perhaps more devastating is
the effect on your mind and character. Every time you successfully
complete a scheduled workout, you build your discipline
and self esteem. When your self esteem increases, it makes
you feel good and that stimulates a positive self-reinforcing
cycle of even more discipline, confidence and action. Everything
you do helps or hurts. Every workout counts. Treat your
word as law. When you say you’re going to work out...
WORK OUT!
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.
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.
>>
Click here for Tom's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program
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.
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.
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.
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!
>>
Click here for Tom's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program
|
