We all stunk at this in the beginning.

At one time or another we’ve all been there. The idea that anyone is an expert at weight lifting right out of the gate is a fools notion. As a newbie it can be irritating to have people get on you back for your bad form or hear someone say you have no idea what you’re doing. There’s a reason for that and it’s because sometimes you honestly don’t know what you’re doing. Don’t bother pretending like you know something if you don’t, it’ll only backfire in the end.

Yeah it may suck to be a newbie, but it’s not going to last forever. Take your ego out of the equation and open up your mind and ears. Take some of these examples as things to avoid doing when you’re at the gym. (Unless you want to be the butt of everyone’s jokes).
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1. Long Breaks

Keeping a certain level of intensity in your exercise is great for your gains. So don’t get lazy and decide to take too much in between sets. It defeats the purpose. You have to keep tension on your muscles, beat them to a pulp if you hope to see any growth. Maintain a 1-2 minute resting period during your training for the best results.

2. You Do Have to Get Some Rest

Now having said taking long breaks impedes your growth, you’ve got to keep in mind that you have to allow your body some rest if you want to see your gains. Yes, you have to thrash your muscles while you’re in the gym, but once your session is over with it’s important to allow those same muscles to rest. Don’t be a jackass and train the same body part everyday without allowing your muscles to recover. That’s how you see the development in the first place.

3. Not Switching Up When They Hit a Plateau

Some guys hit the gym and stick to the same routine for weeks, for months, hell for an entire year without switching things up. Sometimes you need to add some variety to your workouts. Go ahead, keep doing the same exact lifts for months at a time and see if you don’t hit a plateau. It’s bound to happen sooner or later. Switch things up and keep it fresh!

4. Too Many Reps

This is a hallmark of the gym newbie that just makes me sick. You can’t take a 10 lbs weight and expect to see some major gains because you do 100 reps. That will build muscle endurance, but it won’t do much in the way of gaining size. Yeah, sometimes it can’t be helped, particularly if you don’t know any better, but take the time to think about this logically. The heavier the weight the more likley you are to put on muscle. Light weight and high volume has it’s merits, but not where building bulk is concerned. Keep the weight moderate to your strength level and aim for a 10-12 rep range.

5. Crappy Diet

Some people think by training hard in the gym it’s an excuse to eat everything under the sun. Consider this your wake up call. You want to lose fat? Then you better cut the crap out of your diet. If you’re just concerned with strength and size, but not definition, then dirty bulking probably isn’t an issue for you. If you want to be rid of fat and get shredded then you need to keep a proper macro nutrient range of the proper food. 45-50% carbohydrates, 20-25% fat, and 25-30% protein are some good macro ranges to stick to.

6. Too much/Not Enough Cardio

Some people think that all they need to do to get shredded is hit the treadmill and watch the fat burn away. Sure, you’ll burn fat, but you’ll burning muscle along with it. Now that doesn’t mean you should do zero cardio, but it does mean you have to balance cardio with resistance training. Stick within a sensible range, 30-40 minutes of cardio to warm up or cool down, and a healthy amount of weight training will ensure some fat burning while building muscle as well.
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What newbie mistakes have you made? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.