Training Mistakes and Solutions

Speaker 1 0:00

Hey guys , this is Kourt from Read-A-Finding Strength . Welcome to the Finis-Tax podcast . This is a show where I share all my free work on the nutrition tips . I'm not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything . All I ask in return is , if you're enjoying the podcast , to leave a review or leave a five-star rating or , even better , share it with someone you think it might help . This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know . So let's jump right in .

Speaker 1 0:28

Let's talk training mistakes . Often it can feel like we're working really hard in the gym but not seeing results snowballing the way we feel we deserve . So I wanted to discuss common mistakes I saw clients making . First , one of the biggest mistakes is simply mimicking proper form . So this might sound odd as the biggest mistake , but I think it's really key we recognize that proper looking form , a proper looking movement pattern , doesn't mean that we're using the correct recruitment pattern , and often the more advanced the training we are , the more we can cheat and compensate . So in making a move look really , really pretty , we ultimately are causing our own injuries and aches and pains because we're not focused on what we feel working and so we're overusing muscles . We're seeking out mobility from other joints that really aren't meant to work in that way , just to mimic that proper looking movement pattern . So getting caught up and very focused on making something look good , on only form alone , allows us to compensate and not realize how much we might have those moves actually be backfiring . So I would say one of the biggest mistakes you can make is only getting caught up in form . Focus on what you truly feel working . Even step away from reviewing your form in the mirror . Focus instead on what do I feel working during this movement as you record yourself , to then play back to see what the movement actually looks like . While focusing on what you feel working , that can help you connect those two things the movement pattern , the recruitment pattern together .

Speaker 1 1:53

But if you're just looking in the mirror and you're trying to cheat to make it look good , you're going to end up overloading muscle groups and then what you feel working in a move ultimately dictates what's getting the benefit . So even if you're trying to work your abs and doing all these ab moves and all you do is feel your lower back , taking over your lower back is technically what is getting worked by all this ab work you're trying to include . So you're not going to see the results of all that training and all that effort , at least not the results that you want to see . You might see lower back pains , lower back aches , lower back injuries , which is the exact opposite , potentially , of what you want to see happening , but you're not going to get the benefit of all that effort , all that focused work . So make sure you truly feel the correct muscles working and if you don't regress to progress , try a different variation . Make sure you're including that prehab work to really help .

Speaker 1 2:38

But biggest training mistake getting focused only on form , not focusing on recruitment . Next mistake I see clients making and this happens the most when we just want to follow along is just following along . I know those follow along workouts are really tempting to do because they make training mindless . But being mindless in our training is one of the worst things we can do to ourselves . We need to be intentional . We need to focus on what we feel working . Again , the biggest training mistake I see happening but also the benefit we're getting from exercises , how we're progressing movements . So often we think , oh , it's just hard enough and then we just go about the motions , don't just follow along . Just because it's a modified movement , even in the workout that you're seeing , doesn't mean that it's a movement matching your needs and goals or that it's the right level for you . So , even if you are doing a follow along , really be conscious of what you feel working , how the movement is impacting you , how you might need to even modify as you fatigue if something isn't allowing you to engage the correct muscles . But don't just be mindless in the movements . Be very intentional in your training . Even if you're not following along but you're reviewing a movement in a video , test it out beforehand so you can go into the workout very focused on your actual movement during the workout . Also , on progressing do I need to add more loads ? Am I maxing out with reps ? Is my form breaking down ? But don't just follow along .

Speaker 1 3:51

The third mistake I see people making when they're creating a new training routine is misusing diversity . And it was actually funny because today I got a comment on one of my videos hey , you say use the same exercises and don't change up movements , but then in other videos you say change up movements . The thing is , you can do both . It's not either or . But we have to be strategic in how we're using diversity . When you design your workout Monday , tuesday , wednesday , thursday , friday all those workouts should be different .

Speaker 1 4:17

Maybe you have a sumo deadlift on one day and a single leg deadlift on another day . You don't want to just repeat the sumo multiple times per week . You want to use a diversity of hip hinges in your workout routine over the weekly schedule . However , you want to repeat that weekly schedule for at least two to three weeks , if not a little bit longer , because that allows you to see progression and can you do the movement more easily , can you add reps , can you add loads , can you change up tempo , can you progress to a harder variation of the same exercise . But you want to see that clear progression week over week . As you repeat the same thing . However , you have diversity over that week and then the next progression you include to build off of that . You're not necessarily still using the sumo barbell deadlift . Maybe you're doing a different version of the deadlift using a different tool , but that's where that diversity comes into play . But we need consistency in our workouts to see progression , because the more we randomly strengthen things together , the less we can tell what isn't working .

Speaker 1 5:09

The fourth mistake I often see is sticking with X sets and X reps . A lot of times we'll think well , this is the maximal strength rep range and set range , this is the hypertrophy rep range and set range , and this is the strength endurance rep range and set range and we'll only do our three sets of 10 . But getting very rigid in how we design workouts doesn't allow us to use all the different techniques out there and it doesn't allow us to see the best results as fast as possible . And I've seen this happening more with very set bodybuilding routines that have become popular , where there's literally one move and you do it for three sets of 10 . You take this much rest in between and that's not allowing you to take muscles to failure or use all the different drivers of muscle growth . It's not allowing you to implement a lot of more advanced techniques that used to be very popular , even in the bodybuilding industry .

Speaker 1 5:55

But you want to think can I use rest pause ? Can I max myself out at six reps but really want to complete eight and have to pause for 15 seconds to eke out two more ? Can I use cluster sets where I'm breaking down the eight reps of pull ups I'd actually like to do but I can't do fully in a row to just do two or two reps in a row to build up to that eight over the four rounds and then rest longer so that I'm actually able to do a harder variation still doing that volume to build up my strength endurance while also improving the variation I can do , because I can't do more than two in a row . Can I use density intervals or density sets and more time circuits to increase my training density to see results ? Can I use post exhaust , pre exhaust ?

Speaker 1 6:32

There's just so many different techniques and ways we can combine things that if we get very focused only on one way of doing things we're missing out on so many other things . A pairing compound moves with isolation moves Because even in compound move and isolation move combinations the post exhaust is using the isolation after the compound to exhaust further the muscle groups working the compound versus the pre exhaust is using that isolation move to target a larger muscle group so that it's already tired going into the compound movement . So you might even max out at lower weights with that compound movement . Both can be beneficial . With the pre exhaust you can also get into activation if you struggle to activate muscle groups , but you can use things in different ways to really match your needs and goals , and it's not that one technique only will be right for you . You're going to cycle them over time based on what you need to target , and that's the great part . If you find an imbalance , a weakness , an area you want to address , a skill you want to improve , you can use all these different techniques to your advantage .

Speaker 1 7:23

Some of you have even seen great results using my 6-12-25 or the compound burner sets , because it's implementing different rep ranges together . It's using different diversity , movements , different tools , different ways of progression . We don't want to get so caught up in only one way being the right way , because we miss out on not only the opportunity as we worked on different goals because what works towards one goal may not work towards another but also the fact that each thing can build and be progression in a different way . When we can't just add loads because it's not even that we physically can't add loads sometimes it's really uncomfortable to keep progressing in the same way and sometimes , mentally , we need to give ourselves a break while continuing to push because we want to keep those results building , which actually brings me to mistake . Number five is not recognizing how uncomfortable you actually have to make yourself to see progress .

Speaker 1 8:11

So often people will be like , well , I'm not seeing muscle gains , but I'm lifting heavy . Okay , well , talk to me a little bit about what you're doing , your workouts . Well , it's eight to 12 reps . I'm doing 12 reps with this weight and it feels hard . Okay , well , could you do one more ? Well , yes , probably . Have you considered going up in weight so that you have to stop at 11 but do 12 ? Have you considered going up in weight so that you max out at the eight and then you stay with that weight that you could only do for eight reps until you can build up to 12 ? How much are you truly pushing yourself to hit that failure

Embrace Discomfort for Progress

Speaker 1 8:38

point ?

Speaker 1 8:38

And it's not that your form breaks down , but that you really don't have anything left in the tank . It can even be feeling that pump and burn because you're using different drivers of muscle growth over always going from muscle to shoe damage , but you want to recognize that there is a pushing past comfort . If you want to really see a change , you've got to be comfortable being uncomfortable , and that does mean doing stuff that is not easy and mentally sometimes even taxing over even just being physically taxing . But you've got to push that progression . You've got to challenge yourself to go slower on tempos or to mix things up , or to do different rep ranges , or to have to put down the weights for a 10 second break to pick them back up and finish , or to really focus on pushing through the pump or burn a little bit .

Speaker 1 9:19

And this isn't just in making yourself more tired , cutting out rest and feeling like you're out of breath and dying on the ground .

Speaker 1 9:26

There has to be a point where you're also challenging your muscles or can't do the proper form with a weight too .

Speaker 1 9:32

So it's not always that you feel so destroyed from your session or your sore , but you have to embrace that it is a little uncomfortable adding a little bit more weight the next week , doing one more rep with that weight , doing a harder variation , but there's discomfort if we want that change . So if you find that you have just been going through the motions with movements focusing on form but not what you feel working , if you've been following along with workouts , if you've not been using diversity correctly either just stringing random things together or repeating things so consistently that you haven't ever tried to progress in different ways , if you're sticking with very set set and rep ranges and not seeing a diversity of different training techniques in your programming , and if you're not pushing yourself to be uncomfortable both mentally and physically , consider adjusting your workouts in this next week to really include some of these tips that I mentioned , because these training mistakes can keep us feeling like we're working really hard but not seeing results snowball in the way that we want .