Don’t be the Barney at your gym!

 
Mistakes.


We all make them, in every area of our lives. Some of us probably make more mistakes in one particular area than another, but the truth is we all f*%k up along the way. 

Some mistakes are easily recovered from (stepping in dog crap), others not so much (driving under the influence, getting locked up and having a large Nigerian nicknamed “The Hammer” as your cell mate)..

Working out is no different, we make mistakes, we f*%k up from time to time. 

Luckily the consequences of these mistakes are a little less life-altering and traumatic than a weekend spent with “The Hammer”. They’re also easily fixed once you know what they are.

So over the next couple of posts I’m going to be pointing out some of the most common workout mistakes people make, the ones that sabotage all their hard work (or as you’ll see, sometimes not-so-hard work).

Seeing as we’re all bombarded with information these days and retain very little of it, and the fact that I really want you to remember this – I’ll present you with one mistake at a time. 

Read it, chew on it, digest it, then take a long, hard look at your workouts and see if you’re making that mistake. Fix it if you are.

Then I’ll present you with the next mistake. Read it, chew on it, digest it, fix it. 

And onward we shall go. Step by step, we’ll iron all the mistakes out of your workouts.

Okay, so enough of the drivel, let’s get on to the first mistake.
 

Mistake #1:


Training with the intensity of Barney the Dinosaur.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is really just not working hard enough at the gym. They stick with what feels comfortable, they stay in their comfort zones.

The truth is, unless you are specifically training for an endurance type event, your workout should NEVER last more than an hour. It’s just not possible to maintain a decent level intensity for more than an hour, even an hour can be a little long sometimes. Intensity is about doing more work in less time. That’s what forces your body to change.

Next time you’re at the gym take a look at the other people. 

Notice the super-happy, friendly guy who talks to everybody between sets and the woman reading the latest copy of People magazine while she cycles.

Compare them with the guys and girls with the death-stares, working and sweating their butts off, doing weird exercises, focused and not distracted by anything around them. 

Who’s in better shape? Who looks like they’re reaping the benefits of their training? I’m pretty sure you’d say it’s the latter group…

The fact of the matter is that your body will not change unless you SUFFICIENTLY CHALLENGE IT, and one of the main reasons people never get in shape is that they really are just not willing to put in the work, to sweat it out, to take the pain. Everything worth achieving comes at a cost, and in this case you pay for it in sweat.

I’m sorry to bust your bubble, but there really is no silver-bullet or magic pill that will do the work for you. 

You have a job to do when you’re working out, and that is to challenge your body. You are not there to socialize, you are not there to read and muck about – you are there to be bad ass! 

Get in, work hard, get out. 

So the next time you head to the gym, ask yourself if you really think you’re working hard enough.

No matter what your level, ask yourself – is it not possible to push yourself just a little harder, to do just 1 more rep, 1 more burpee, 1 minute more than you did last week?


 
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