You’ve invested in that gym membership and you’re super keen to make sure that you get the most out of that investment.

You’re looking around that gym floor at every conceivable shape and size of individual.  They all invested at least the same money that you did, but most, if you are honest, don’t look so good! What did you and everyone else pay for?

Sure, they turn up four times a week like you do.  Some even more, but you’re still looking at pipe cleaner arms, soft butts, chicken drumstick legs and barely a set of abs in sight.  Hey, these people should be cut like a plate of sashimi!! What’s wrong?  Is there something they could all be doing wrong?  What mistake matters the most when you’re looking for real results?

There are few classics that don’t help:

1.    Same program executed over and over again, often for many months;
2.    Same, fast speed of movement (tempo) being used exclusively;
3.    Cheating the form.  When did a bicep curl start to look like riding a kiddies swing and require a violent, forward hip thrust;
4.    Too much rest in between sets.  I’m all for socialising but the pub is free and there is no need to trade spit n’ sweat on face-book!!
5.    Too much mirror gazing (both during and in-between lifting); I know, you are hot, sexy and irresistible.  The mirror loves you baby, but believe me, looking at it doesn’t make it grow!!!!
6.    Wrong exercises being used given the persons goal (does anyone honestly think that making moves like a giant clam with your legs and a rubber band creates toned thighs);
7.    Not working hard enough (grimacing and performing loud grunts on rep 3 of 10 does not make the exercise harder, burn more energy or make you stronger).

All common and big mistakes – but not the most common; the most common mistake that I see is – inappropriate range of movement (ROM).

If you want to stronger, bigger or more toned then work all of your muscle as hard as you can – so go for full range of movement: here is a little secret – the aim of a workout is not to make it easy!!! Helloooo!!

Assuming you don’t go to the gym to get weaker or softer, full ROM should be the basis of all your movements ( POP QUIZ: a free training session goes to the first client to email me an example of a muscle people do sometimes want to get smaller – I have a specific scenario in mind).  And we also want to do ROM that resembles real world situations: lifting massive weights from a rack with straps will not help you bend over and pick up a box from the floor – I would think it quite embarrassing to find out that gym heroics with 160 kgs may not allow you to handle a box from the floor any better than my mother could!

What else does a full ROM achieve?  Take the squat.  Perform ¼ or ½ range squats and you may get massive loads on the bar – but you only really work the front of your legs and will create imbalances and funny looking legs.  Go deep – like ass to the grass deep – and you will actually create tone, shape, and strength in your butt, lower back, calves, and hamstrings along with functional strength and muscular symmetry.  Nice!!

A smart client of mine argued that small ROM is the result another big mistake – using weights that are too big?  In my opinion, this is not always true.  People may select a weight that is too big for the given reps they try to perform (6-10 for example) – but they should be able to do a few good, full reps – and yet they don’t.    Admittedly it is a bit ‘chicken and egg’ – but I am going to stick with the inappropriate ROM as being the most common.

Here are the take away points that make reading this article worth every minute (assuming you implement them):
1.    On most exercises – perform the movement with no weight and see what ROM you can achieve comfortably with good form: this is the ROM you should use with additional weight on every rep.
2.    When you cannot do the ROM any longer, stop the set.
3.    Where you cannot do a full ROM – perform (ideally with the help of a trainer or partner) regular PNF stretches or mobility drills to increase your flexibility for that movement.

And finally, NEVER bother to compare your own high quality, full ROM lifts, to those lifts you see done for shorter ROM by the less enlightened.  The difference is vast – for example my maximum front squat may be 105 but a half ROM takes that up to 140+ – and if I practised at that short ROM it would shoot up even higher – but it is still meaningless.

If you do not have a log in, please contact us