Going too hard too soon or competing against your mates

Something happens to guys when they step into a gym. It’s like they turn into The Rock and think they are invincible. ‘I reckon I could bench press that’ is the usual thought. Sometimes we let our ego get in the way of getting quality work done. Less is more on most occasions, but it’s easy to get way too excited about hitting a new PB or ‘seeing what you can do’. We’ve all been there, myself included.

Try to put the ego aside for an hour and focus on doing what you can with quality. Rome wasn’t built in a day. You’re unlikely to create the body you want off the back of one session that will put you into the hurt locker for three days.

Not following a plan.

Fail to plan; then you plan to fail. And I’m not talking about ‘I do back and tri’s on Monday, Chest and biceps Tuesday etc.’. I’m talking about a plan with sets and reps, weights tracking, appropriate movements and proper progressions so you, well, progress.

Get a plan together, or get someone to do one for you.

Going it alone/not seeking help

We’re a proud bunch. We don’t like asking for help even if we have NFI what to do. It’s a trait that’s been generally passed down to us from our fathers and their fathers. Going it alone rarely leads to the best outcome or the goal completed in the allocated time. Need to put that desk together? Sure, no worries. Never done it before but she’ll be right. 4hrs of frustration later, DONE!

The same goes for training. We are the worst possible person to do our own programming, even if you know what you’re doing. And if you don’t know what you’re doing, well you’re pushing sh!t uphill every time you step into the gym.

Ask for help. Seek guidance. My experience has been it will save you a lot of time, money and effort in the long run.