At the age of 20, Arnold Schwarzenegger won his first bodybuilding title as Mr.Universe. But his success didn’t happen overnight; he had to learn from beginner bodybuilding mistakes just like everyone else. Now, he promotes his weekly workout schedule, which helps other people build a better lifestyle.
It doesn’t matter if you follow the best workouts for bodybuilding; you can still make errors when it comes to diet and exercise, as well as choosing supplements for bodybuilding.
So, before you go setting bodybuilding goals for this year, read this article. You’ll discover the most common beginner bodybuilding mistakes and how to avoid them in your training.
Look Out for These 12 Beginner Bodybuilding Mistakes
One of the most common and simple beginner bodybuilding mistakes anyone can make when they enter this world of fitness is to wing it in the gym. This can happen to anyone when they are starting out, whether you’re fresh out of school or getting into bodybuilding when you’re retired.
But it’s an easy mistake to avoid.
1) No Clear Bodybuilding Program
When you walk into a gym, it can be tempting to go straight to the weight rack and press a heavy load, but if this is your first time, your body will pay the consequences. First, you need to research different bodybuilding programs and find a routine that fits your lifestyle.
For instance, if you work full-time during the week, you don’t want to pick a training schedule that makes you show up at the gym when you have a work meeting. So, to avoid crashing after your first week of bodybuilding, find a fitness program online that’s been recommended in forums.
Alternatively, if you have experience in weight training and other fitness programs, you can also experiment with writing your own routine. The most important thing is that it allows you to make the most of your time training. So, keep that in mind when you’re creating a new bodybuilding schedule.
2) Jumping Between Workout Programs
Another mistake that can happen when you pick a workout schedule is jumping to a new one because you get bored. This can happen from time to time if you’ve been following the same routine for months. But progress only happens when you stick with your program and see it through to the end.
If you find a new workout that you want to try, you can keep it in a folder on your desktop or phone and come back to it later. It’s good to get excited about bodybuilding techniques, but you need to give a program for at least six months if you want to see the muscle gains and definition in your body.
3) Skipping Warm Up
Strength-based exercises are great for relieving tension and working through emotional problems, but you need to be in the right mindset when you start your session. Beginners often overlook the importance of warmups when they arrive at the gym because they want to get started with fun exercises like kettlebells or leg presses.
All it takes is 5 minutes of walking on the treadmill or a few calisthenics exercises to get your body warm and blood circulating. So, put on your favorite song and take your time warming up. This allows your body to get comfortable with the movement and will prevent after-workout DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).
4) Not Learning the Basics
You can’t get to the level of Arnold Schwarzenegger without nailing the basics of bodybuilding. Gyms are full of expensive, complicated machines that can take your training to a new level. But you need to take time to learn the basics if you want to keep progressing to more intense exercises.
In general, the best exercises to focus on as a beginner are as follows:
- Deadlifts
- Pullups
- Rows
- Dips
- Squats
If you get to know these basic exercises, you’ll find progression in your workouts much easier.
5) Forgetting About Form
Your form is another crucial part of bodybuilding, as it’s important if you want to prevent injury and see muscle growth in different areas. One way to learn about form is to train with a personal trainer or watch videos online. Ideally, you can team up with a workout buddy and train together so someone can watch your form.
The correct form will take pressure off your joints, build muscle, and limit injury risk when working out. It can take a while before you learn the correct way to hold weights or do a pullup, but it’s essential that you ask for help from the beginning.
To prevent practicing the wrong form, you need to accept that you have to start with lower weights and build on your strength in stages. The best way to tell if you’re doing the right form during an exercise is to focus on the muscle and ensure that you feel it working.
Being mindful when you’re learning will help you identify how to work the muscles in your body and what it should feel like when you’re training.
6) Going Too Heavy Too Soon
Similar to learning the right form when exercising, going too heavy too soon when training can be detrimental to your body and your progress. If you overestimate your strength, you could end up with permanent injuries or have to skip your workouts for a few weeks.
There’s no reason you should be lifting lots of weight initially, especially if you want to see real growth. Pace yourself, and the results will speak for themselves.
If you want to feel more of a pump after your workout, you can try working out for shorter timeframes and increasing the weight over time. This will give you a feeling of accomplishment without risking injuries. And it allows you to fit in other things in your life, like work and family commitments.
7) Your Workout Is Too Long
Getting into the zone when you’re working out is part of the fun when it comes to bodybuilding. By the time you finish the warm-up and start lifting, time seems to fly by; by the time you know it, it’s been over an hour. Even though this can be great for your mental health and learning techniques, it can put more strain on your body.
Likewise, training for too long, over several days a week, might interfere with your gains. It’s important that you take rest days and put different workouts for different body parts apart. For instance, you should never train your arms two days in a row.
You need to give your body a chance to recover and rest before you train again.
Stick to your training program and focus on cardio when you aren’t training heavy. You can go for a hike, run, or long walk. As long as you keep moving, you’ll feel the benefits of take-off and get more out of your training sessions.
8) Eating Junk Food
The most successful bodybuilders don’t only focus on training when they are preparing for a competition. They have to eat the right food and limit their intake of junk food. Bodybuilding training is designed to push your body to its limits, so you need to fuel it with nutrition and healthy food.
If you’re eating junk food every night, your body will feel sluggish and tired the next day. So, you have to examine your food cupboards and ensure that there are no guilty pleasures hiding in the fridge. You can still enjoy good food but in moderation.
Instead, you should be focused on getting the right amount of protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates. If you’re busy with other commitments between working out, you can create a meal plan and prepare your food in advance.
This is a great way to avoid the temptation of eating junk food after a hard day, and it will give you a routine that’s easy to follow.
Here are some easy meal ideas to get you inspired:
- Sweet potato and beef bowl
- Salmon, rice, and broccoli
- Spinach and feta salad
- Egg and avocado toast
- Overnight oats
Depending on your dietary requirements, you can add or remove ingredients and make yourself delicious meals.
When you go to the gym, taking a protein snack or piece of fruit is a good idea as you might get hungry after an intense training session. Plus, you should never forget to take a big bottle of water.
Hydration is another important factor if you want to keep healthy and see progress.
9) Lack of Sleep
No matter if you’re a bodybuilder or a yoga instructor, sleep is the only way that your body gets to recover and rest when you’re exercising. The ideal amount of sleep you should get is 8 hours a night. But, it can be hard to maintain this sleeping routine if you have young family members or late nights at work.
If you can, change your sleep schedule and get to bed earlier in the night’s that you don’t need to stay up late. Alternatively, you can try napping during the day after lunch or in the early evening. It’s good to avoid watching TV or being on a screen late at night as this will stimulate your brain and make it harder to fall asleep.
Prioritize sleep, and you’ll training sessions will feel much easier. And if you can’t get 8-9 hours of sleep a night, take power naps and get to bed early when it’s possible.
10) Rest Is Not Your Best Friend
Rest is equally important to sleep, but that doesn’t mean you can’t rest and be active. For instance, you can take deload breaks while following a program that gives you a week to catch up on relaxation. If you don’t take occasional breaks in your program, you’ll burn your body out with the exercise.
Normally, people don’t deload until it’s necessary, and it can be too late. You can already injure yourself if you don’t listen to your body and your tiredness levels.
People also decide to deload if their program is not showing results. Within a few months, you should see a noticeable muscle difference. If you don’t feel progress, it might be time to try a new routine. When you want to switch programs, you must deload and start a new training routine.
That way, your body will have a chance to recover before you explore new training methods.
11) Pushing Injuries to the Side
Exercising should never feel painful or cause you discomfort. So, if you’re suffering from lower back pain and you’re continuing your training program as normal, you need to stop what you’re doing and address the injuries.
If you don’t take a break and heal your injury, it might never fully recover. And your workouts will suffer from a lack of consistency.
The only time you should keep training is if the pain is mild. Otherwise, rest and wait until you feel better.
12) Picking the Wrong Workout Buddy
Friendships of any kind can either improve your life or make it worse. The same rule applies to a workout buddy.
You need to pick someone who is going to be reliable when you go to the gym, push you to keep improving, and motivate you when you’re struggling with a new technique or looking for sarms for sale.
If you’re lucky, you might already have a workout friend. Or, you can join a local gym and find like-minded people who enjoy bodybuilding too. Remember to surround yourself with positivity when you first start out, and you’ll notice a huge difference.
Find More Bodybuilding Tips Online
Most people make these beginner bodybuilding mistakes when they first begin their journey into this world, but knowing how to stop yourself from burnout and injury is crucial to succeeding.
You can invest all your money in the best supplements and equipment, but sometimes you just can’t progress because your body is tired. It might be impossible to become a bodybuilder overnight, but you will get there if you stay motivated.
Surround yourself with the right resources and tools on our website and embrace the lifestyle of a bodybuilder today.
