Things New Lifters Should Avoid

What are some of the things new lifters should avoid? If you’re new to the gym, and training to gain muscle, it’s easy to get caught up in misinformation. Maybe you see a big guy lifting for hours at a time, 7 days a week. Should you do that too? In this article, I will answer that question and much more. So without further delay, let’s dive right in!

Here Are Some Things New Lifters Should Avoid!

Don’t Follow The Routines Of The Pros

What is the single biggest mistake new lifters can make? That’s easy – to think that more is better. They look at the routines of pro bodybuilder’s – or at how the big boys in the gym train – and see how often many of these lifters are in the gym. They think they need to do the same, even though they are rank beginners. 

The thing many new lifters don’t see is that the pro or big guy/girl has a lot more years of training under their belt. Not to mention, many of these lifters are chemically enhanced, which changes all the rules. The problem is that new lifters have zero experience. They don’t yet understand the basic principles of working out. Plus, they may not know what “chemically enhanced” is. 

The point here is that you have to build a foundation, but you have to be reasonable about volume. To that end, for the rank beginner, I suggest a 3 days a week full body routine. In time, you can move up to a 3 day push/pull/legs split.

Don’t be one of these new lifters that don’t get the concept of recovery. I can recall working in mall retail (for a major supplement chain), and it happened all the time. Newbies would come in, and I would ask questions. 10 times out of 10, they over-trained (sometimes dramatically) and refused to listen when I tried to talk about recovery. They honestly thought they knew better. 

The point here is that living in the gym doesn’t mean you’ll like Ronnie Coleman within 3 weeks. We’ll talk more about recovery, but right now, let me say that you won’t grow if you don’t recover.

Don’t Ego Lift

One possible mistake new lifters make is rushing to lift the heaviest weight they possibly can. You should only be handling what you can lift in good form for your prescribed number of reps. Do not try and lift more than you can handle. Worse yet, don’t be one of these guys that lifts some monster weight an inch (or less) and then thinks you did a good job. 

Don’t Rush Your Reps!

Playing off the last section, how you perform your reps is critical to your progress. I see it all the time – lifters that race through their reps, and/or lifters doing half or even quarter reps. Perform your reps completely under control at an even tempo and for the full range of motion. Here’s the tempo you should be using: 2 seconds up, 4 seconds down, and a 3 second pause in the position where your target muscle is fully stretched.

Don’t Ignore Form

Again playing off the last section, be 100% sure you know how to perform all the exercises you plan to do. I will never forget training with a guy way, way back in the day. We’d be doing bench presses, and this kid would twist and turn and knot himself up like a pretzel to get an obviously too heavy weight up. He was a major injury waiting to happen. 

Drop the weight to a point where you can lift the weight using perfect form. Not sure about form? Any decent gym has a trainer or two on staff, talk to that person. 

Don’t Skip Warm-Ups

We mentioned warm-ups earlier. This is another major mistake new lifters make. They tend to think they can just walk in off the street and jump right into their heaviest sets. You have to take the time to prepare the muscles by warming up. That’s one of the best ways to prevent injuries. Even if all you do is perform 3 light sets of your first exercise for all major body parts, you’re getting those muscles warm and ready.  

Don’t Ignore Recovery

We’ve already touched on recovery. Besides giving the body time to rest, heal, and grow before your next workout, recovery is about replenishing the nutrients you’ve used up during your last workout. This is where proper nutrition and supplementation comes into the picture. 

Nutrition Tips

As far as nutrition, I suggest eating 50% of all your carbohydrates for the day in the hours around your workout. I also suggest eating all of your sugary carbs at this time. Plus, your prep for your next workout should ideally begin the day before. 

By late afternoon, you should be thinking about consuming carbs. Why? Because carbs are what the body uses to propel your muscles through your workout. If you expect to train hard, then you need enough fuel. 

From there, I advocate 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight spread over 5-6 meals a day – every day. 

What About Supplements?

First, to help you reach your daily protein target, make sure you’re using a high-quality protein powder. I always suggest Hi-Tech Precision Protein. This is a whey protein powder that is not like any other whey powder. Why? Because it is designed to release leucine in the initial stages of protein synthesis. As you might know, protein synthesis is a direct trigger of muscle growth. 

Next, I suggest using a pre-workout because they can make the difference between a great training session and an average one. Good pre-workouts include NutraBio Base, one of the best “base” pre-workouts on the market. A “base” pre-workout is one that features a streamlined formula at a value price, and this level of Pre is a great place for the new lifter to start. 

From there, I always suggest adding creatine monohydrate to your supplement program. I suggest AllMax Nutrition Creatine Monohydrate. Finally, I advise a multi-vitamin to ensure you have no nutritional gaps.

Summary 

To recap, new lifters do need to worry about how often the pro or “big guy” trains. It’s not about him/her, it’s about you and what you’re capable of. Follow the suggestions I made in this article. Train to your goals, use reasonable volume, recover, keep track of your progress, dial in your nutrition and stop by illpumpyouup.com/ and stack up on your supplements!