Leave Your Ego Outside The Gym

A lot of trainees make the same mistake when working out – they use weights that are too heavy for them to lift. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m an advocate of heavy lifting.

“High weights – lower reps” is my favorite style of training, and after all a stronger muscle is a bigger muscle if we go by some logic. But we are talking about heavy controlled lifting here, not ego lifting.

Controlled lifting is a is one thing, while swinging the weights around, using momentum or just cutting your range of motion short is a completely different story.

So many guys get caught up in these ego boosting, weight lifting competitions that happen in the gyms around the world every day. To be honest, even I was committing this bodybuilding “sin” a long time ago.

However, this is not the right way to build muscle. Using a weight that’s too heavy to completely control, you’re just risking an injury while achieving minor results at the same time. You need to focus on your form instead of trying to “outlift” other people in the gym.

Pay attention to these tips when you lift weights if you want to get the best results possible and build muscle in the shortest amount of time:

1. Lift smart not hard

Leave your ego at the door of your gym. Remember, the only person you need to out-lift is yourself. Don’t waste your time with how much the guy next to you is lifting.

Progression is everything in this sport, or in other words, you should work on beating your previous personal best lifts. Try to add small amounts of weight to the bar every couple of weeks.

2. Watch Your Lifting Form

Progression is the key when it comes to lifting weights but good form should go hand in hand with it. You can occasionally use cheat reps and other training techniques to add some intensity to your workout, but not every day.

If your form is not correct during an exercise, you are using short range of motion or you’re simply trying to use momentum to lift the weight, you are probably using too much weight. Lower the weight and try again.

3. Full Range Of Motion

Full range of motion along with stretching at the end of the workout will help you get the maximal benefit out of every exercise. Full ROM doesn’t mean that you should do your reps fast and bounce the bar of your body though. Controlled negatives and explosive positives build muscle and strength.

One final word –  many trainees wonder why they can’t build muscle using a solid workout routine. Well it is probably because their diet is no good. You cannot get stronger and build muscle if your diet is not in order.

Pay attention to the amount of protein, carbs and fats as well as overall calories you consume on a daily basis.