5 Strength Training Mistakes
5 Strength Training Mistakes we often see clients make.
You probably know we are big fans of strength training, and for good reason. It works. As the body ages you lose muscle at a greater and greater rate with each passing decade. This muscle loss results in decreased strength with age.
While this is a natural part of the aging process, it doesn’t mean we have to get weak and frail as the years pass. In fact, we can maintain high levels of strength throughout life, but we have to do the work to maintain it. And that work is strength training 2-4 days a week.
Here are five of the common mistakes we are seeing made with strength training according to Josh Proch of Pittsburgh North Fitness.
Strength Training Mistake #1.
Never using single arm and single leg movements. While bilateral movements, like squats, deadlifts and barbell presses, are great exercises. You greatly diminish your results by never training single arm and single leg movements. Also, many of our day to day activities happen in a single arm/single leg pattern.
Strength Training Mistake #2.
Your strength training looks like cardio. Strength training when done right requires rest periods between sets. Moving from exercise to exercise in order to keep heart rate up is not strength training. It’s cardio…with weights. While circuit and interval training has its’ place and is a great compliment to strength training, it is not the same. Resting between sets allows you to lift heavier weight and will produce better results.
Strength Training Mistake #3.
Your core training only consists of crunches. A better way to train the core is through exercises that target the cores main function of stabilizing the spine, resisting rotation and extension of the spine, and stabilizing with limb movement. A few examples are planks, plank with arm reach, Pallof presses, and dead bugs to name just a few.
Strength Training Mistake #4.
Not taking a recovery week. Every 12-16 weeks it is good to take a full week off from exercise. This allows your body to fully recover, avoid mental fatigue from training, and avoid overuse injuries.
Strength Training Mistake #5.
Not using the benefit of Neuromuscular Excitation training. This is the process of waking up the bodies neuromuscular system and getting everything turned on so that you can lift more and can be more explosive. We like to cover this at the end of our warm up in what we call our “Jump, Throw, Carry” circuit. This would look something like 3 squat jumps, 5 med ball chest throws, and a farmer’s carry for 2 rounds.
There you have five strength training mistakes that we see being made. If you’ve been making one these mistakes try to change it up and see your results improve.
Ready to get started on your fitness journey?
Check out more blogs at www.Bodyforcefitness247.com/blog