Mindconnection Brainpower Informational eNewsletter 2022-10-16

Ten common workout mistakes:

Taking a preworkout supplement. These generally contain excess caffeine, which will interfere with your focus (which is why, of course, the label says it improves focus). Nothing you take prior to a training session will help you train better. So save your money.
Consuming a massive post-workout shake.
Consuming sugar or any other endocrine modifier within two hours of a workout. Many pre and post workout supplements contain endocrine modifiers, which means you get a huge insulin spike. Insulin is antagonistic to testosterone, so you have just neutralized the primary benefit of your workout.
No plan for that session. Make sure you know exactly which muscle groups you are training and which exercises you will use to train them
Your plan isn't targeted. The "whole body workout" concept is an oxymoron. The main reason serious bodybuilders, pro athletes, and others use a split routine is that is how you can get the required intensity for a targeted muscle group. Another reason is you give that same group ample time to recover before hitting it again. Legs, for example, typically take about a week to recover if you train them correctly.
Your plan changes often. Training takes practice. You must develop skill to perform a given exercise correctly. You must remember which exercises you are doing and in what order; while a list can help, it is better to know the routine. You can make minor changes each session if you want, but you should stick to the plan as long as it's working and you aren't pacing yourself to get through it.
Doing every set to failure. Never do large compound movements to failure, this is both dangerous and unproductive. Isolation exercises may be done to failure, but you must think of it as the failure to be able to perform a rep in strict, correct form rather than the failure to be able to move the weight through the hardest part of the movement arc.
Not doing the full range of motion. The theory behind doing partial range exercises is they somehow make the middle of the muscle bigger and so you get more bulge; this is not true. You can use partial range exercises together for superior results (mid-range, full extension, and full contraction--three exercises, each with its own set count and I prefer 4 sets so this is a lot of volume), but if you train a given muscle only in a partial range you lose development potential while dramatically increasing injury potential.
Taking too long between sets. I do many sets back to back, not resting at all between them. Of course, these are sets of different exercises. For example, I do a set of biceps curls immediately following a set of chin-ups. I start leg day with four sets of front squats, but rest only briefly between sets. The rest period gets longer with each set for obvious reasons, but it is almost never more than 70 seconds before that final set. People who take 5 or even 10 minute breaks to check their text messages or whatever are taking metabolic stress down to about zero; metabolic stress is one of the three factors needed to get the adaptive response.

The biggest mistake? Failing to train consistently. Never miss a workout. Yes, people tell me that's unrealistic. But I have not missed a workout since 1977, despite challenging circumstances and crazy schedules.

Mindconnection eNL, 2022-10-16

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