10 Most Common Body Building Mistakes and Solutions

Bodybuilding, if done right, can improve your body shape and enhance your strengths, but if done wrong, it can be really injurious and useless to you. While people generally take Bodybuilding as 'lifting weights', its a lot more than that.

Bodybuilding is not just about 'lifting weights', its about lifting proper weights in the proper form with a proper diet and rest. If any of the phases of bodybuilding mentioned are rendered improperly, your body will suffer badly.

Training/building your body is a sensitive task and must be done properly so as to achieve your targets.

Today we'll take a look at some common bodybuilding mistakes people do without realizing their harmful effects. We'll also be looking at their probable solutions.

Mistake #1. Performing Low Reps

It is very right that for building muscles, doing low reps with high weight is essential. But going lower than 8 reps will do you no good. The perfect reps range for building muscle is 8-12 reps.

Solution

• Use lesser weight.
• Keep the rep range between 8-12 reps.
• Ask a friend to assist you in the last few reps of a set.

Mistake #2. Cheating your sets

An exercise without proper form and procedure can be injurious. While exercising, focus on getting the form right rather than completing the 10-rep set.

Many people use the wrong form at the end of a set just to complete it, since doing it the right way wouldn't let you complete it. This has negative effects on your muscles and defers their performance in the next set.

Solution

• Master the proper form of an exercise
• Get an assist from a wall or bench depending upon the type of exercise
• Lower the weights a little

Mistake #3. Using only the machines

People like to work on the machines in the gym. They're there for a purpose yes, but one should also include free weight exercises in the workout plan.

Free movement is much more effective than mechanical movement. Take the example of legends like Arnold who became what they are by focusing on free-weight exercises.

Solution

• Perform the basic free-weight exercise for every body part
• Focus on the compound exercises like the bench press and dips rather than machine extensions.
• Chose the machines that work more like free-weights and don't require you to move in a mechanical manner.

Mistake #4. Not reaching the Failure Point

In a set, when you can apparently lift the muscle no more, doing a rep or two significantly improves your muscles. People mostly set a target, say 8 reps and easily perform these 8 reps for an exercise, which is not that beneficial.

Solution

• Don't set your target reps for an exercise, the reps you can do easily. Try to go past your strength.
• Ask a friend to assist you in doing more reps when you fail.
• Focus on beating your best reps count for an exercise each time you perform it.

Mistake #5. Not resting enough

If you can't give your body time to rest, you must not think about building muscles. Your muscles don't build up while you're lifting. Most of the muscle development process works while you're asleep or resting.

People generally think the more they lift, the more their muscles will grow. But actually, resting is more important than lifting. Moreover, proper rests between two sets is also important.

Solution

• Be sure to give a 72 hour gap between training of most body parts except abs and calves.
• Avoid compound exercises on consecutive days

Mistake #6. Not training the smaller muscle groups

Research shows that more than 60% of the bodybuilders, don't train their forearms. Also, people don't generally give their time to cardio, abs and stretching.

People generally take training forearms and abs as wasting time although they are one crucial muscle group in the body and for a balanced body structure, training every body is a must.

Solution

• Make time for cardio and abs.
• Train each muscle separately and directly, including the forearms.
• Instead of working out our 'arms', work out your 'biceps, triceps and forearms'.

Mistake #7. Decreasing intensity of workout

You often would have felt that completing the first set isn't hard, completing the next is. Ans therefore you decrease the intensity of your workout for every successive set.

Your muscles don' get flatten out after a set. If you did 10 reps in the first set, it is easily possible for you to do 10 more in the next 2 sets each if you give your body proper rest and fuel, mostly water.

Solution

• Make sure you're not overtraining. Don't go more than one or two reps past the failure point
• Drink water between sets
• Give a 1-2 minute rest between sets.

Mistake #8. Going Short and Quick on reps

Slow and steady wins the race. Instead of quickly doing a rep, try to do it with patience and the right form.

If you don't flex your biceps in Biceps Curl, you're not getting what you can get. Performing the exercise in good form is much more effective than just performing the exercise.

Solution

• Master the proper exercise form.
• Use lesser weights so as to perform full-range reps

Mistake #9. Missing the targeted muscle area

Abs, triceps, back, quads, traps are the five complex muscles with several areas to hit. While performing their exercises, you need to make sure you're targeting the right area.

Solution

• Perform the right exercise for a body part. Get to know where the exercise hits, and do so accordingly.
• Get a better understanding of body muscles.

Mistake #10. Fixed workout routine

Like food, workout routines get stale and useless after some time. You need to constantly update your workout routine by removing the current exercises and adding more diversified ones to keep improving.

Your body gets sued to a workout routine. When it does, more exercise of the same type doesn't help much. It needs a new workout plan to help improve.

Solution

• Change your workout routine every 2 months
• Try the variations in each exercise
• Get familiar with every singe machine in your gym

Be sure to edit your workout plan and approach after reading the list. This won't just keep you away from injuries but also help you improve faster.

Let us know in the comments sections the mistakes you found in your workout, if you did.