Things to Avoid in Gym

Irrespective of you present status at the gym of being an enthusiastic starter or a seasoned bodybuilder, there are some things you should stay away from at the gym:

1. Common Distractions

You need to maintain your focus at the gym. This is the basic requirement to avoid injuries and to ensure that you can make actual ‘gains’ (the slang for gaining muscle). It is vital that you use your gymming time for meeting your fitness goals rather than chatting away and ogling at others. Try to avoid bringing your mobile to the gym. Mobiles are our constant connection with the outer world. Inside the gym, your weights and the coach are the only ones you should concentrate upon. Stop getting distracted by pretty girls. Even if you find them irresistible, ensure that you have the basic degree of alertness to maintain the right posture when exercising. Other distracting factors usually found at gyms include:

· Talkative buddies who seem to confuse the gym for their office cafeteria

· Over-indulgent gymming folks who keep on advising, relentlessly

· Extremely loud music that takes away your concentration

· Gymming buddies who crib too much and suck-away your enthusiasm

2. Overdependence on Gadgets

Try to remember one small but very true piece of gymming wisdom, i.e. if you are serious about attaining your gymming goals, keep it simple. This means don’t over-indulge in gadgets that alert you about the smallest of issues like your how much you are perspiring or your cardiac rate. Within the gym, you are supposed to push yourself. Taking too many precautions means you are going to end up working-out smartly without exercising hard enough. If serious muscle gain is your goal, ditch the gadgets.

3. Jumping at Bigger Weights & Dumbbells

Yes, gymming is also about testing yourself but you need to mix precaution with the zeal to lift heavier weights. You need to understand that gymming injuries can be very serious. Secondly, lifting extremely heavy weights is recommended only when you have attained a certain degree of muscle mass and overall fitness. Trying to lift too heavy, too early can cause tissue damage. This doesn’t make sense as it will only deter your ability to gain muscle. Lastly, lifting much beyond your capacity is recommended only if you are serious about bulking-up. This too is done in short, programmed phases and not just out of pure curiosity to test your physical limits.

4. Your Ego

This is especially for those who have a tendency of not adhering to instructions. The more seasoned gym-going crowd, the coaches and instructors have a lot to offer. However, they can be of help only if you are ready to listen. Every trainer has a certain method. If you find that his method doesn’t match your requirements or viewpoint, make the effort of clarifying things with him at the earliest. Leave your ego at the entrance door of gym and enter with a humbler attitude.

5. Crowded Changing Rooms

Yes, the showers and the changing room at the gym are meant to be used but some caution is avoided. Unless you are fully satisfied about the hygiene of these places, you would be much better-off not frequenting them. Crowded changing rooms are a breeding ground for some of the most common skin infections, i.e. the bacterial and fungal type. Try not to share your towel and clothes with anybody.

6. Too Much Experimentation

Working-out can be a bit of fun once you get a hold of the basics of the game and then, you can try some new variations too. However, experimenting too much just for the kick of it or to show-off can land you with a serious injury. This is particularly true for the upper and lower back, the neck and the shoulders. These areas are most vulnerable to getting injured and such injuries don’t heal easily. So, stop being a maverick at the gym and instead try to exercise safely.

7. Excessive Usage of Machines

You can visit any of the bodybuilding forums or seek the second opinion of any fitness devotee—they will all tell you that exercising using your bodyweight and the free weights is the most effective and safest. By using the very tempting machines that promise so much, you are only impairing your progress towards muscle-hood. Machines reduce your range of motion and make you develop unreasonable planes of motion. This induces more stress upon the body with minimal results. It is better to use free weights as they engage the maximum number of muscles.

8. Getting Overzealous

It is natural that you will compare yourself with others around you in the gym. However, this shouldn’t lead to developing an inferiority complex about your progress. Everybody has a different body, fitness range and the pace at which they gain muscle or lose inches. If you get too obsessed about how others are better than you, it will only mess-up your mind, taking away your focus. (Health, MensXP.com)