Mejia: Workout Wreckers [ Jul 21, 2011 ]

Avoid These Common Training Mistakes

by Mike Mejia CSCS

As someone who's spent an awful lot of time in gyms, one of the biggest changes I've noticed in the past few years is the growing number of young athletes who've taken to the weight room. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with this; I for one have always felt that kids should do whatever they can to help improve their fitness level and make their bodies more resilient to injury. This includes their participation in a properly designed and well supervised strength training program- particularly after they've first mastered working with their own body weight . Unfortunately, I'm also noticing many of these same athletes falling victim to what are often times, easily avoidable training mistakes. From failing to warm up, to rushing into advanced forms of training before their bodies are ready, kids are constantly finding ways to sabotage their progress in the gym. That's why I wanted to take the time to go over some of the more egregious errors I've been seeing. So, take a look at the list below and see if you're guilty of any of these common workout infractions.

1. Failing to warm-up properly (if at all): Maybe it's that whole "young and invincible" vibe most of you walk around with, but I'm absolutely astonished at how few young athletes take the time to warm-up before physical activity. And please don't tell me that a couple of lazy arm swings before you get set to bench press, or a quick static stretch for your hamstrings prior to doing a lower body exercise adequately prepares your body for the strenuous work to follow. In fact, static stretching (the type where you hold a muscle in a stretched position for at least 20-30 seconds at a time) is the exact opposite of what you want to do before any type of intense physical activity! Don't get me wrong; when used properly, particularly by athletes who are beyond their peak growth years, it can be an effective way to relieve chronic muscular tension and help restore muscles to their resting length following tough workouts. The problem, however, is that since its primary purpose is to relax and elongate muscles, static stretching does a poor job of preparing them for the types of repeated, forceful contractions they'll experience during sports participation or training. You can read more about the right way for young athletes to warm up in my article that appears here.

The take home message is that whether you like it or not, warming up plays a crucial role in both reducing your likelihood of injury and maximizing performance - as long as you do it the right way. Increasing things like body temperature, blood flow and range of motion, enables your muscles to contract with much greater force - leading to faster and more significant improvements in strength and speed. So do yourself a favor. The next time you hit the gym, take at least 8-10 minutes to do a proper warm-up. Not sure exactly what that entails? Then check out some of the drills in my video on warm-ups for 14-18 year olds. Don't worry about the fact that the exercises are shown being done out on a field. Besides being a great way to warm-up before practices and games, they're also perfect for prepping your muscles, joints and connective tissue prior to hitting the weight room.

2. Rushing into advanced forms of training before you're ready: This one's a major pet peeve of mine. I really get upset when I see kids doing things like lifting more weight than they can handle, jumping up on platforms, or over hurdles, or my favorite- dragging weighted sleds behind them, before they've at least developed some baseline levels of strength and mobility. I get that this is the kind of stuff that pro athletes are doing and kids want to try and emulate their heroes. I also understand and appreciate the fact that personal training for young athletes has become a booming industry, and there are lots of trainers and facilities out there who like to use these sorts of drills because they "look cool" and serve as a terrific selling point to parents and coaches. The reality is, however, that oftentimes this type of training is employed far too early in an athlete's development.

Call me a stickler, but I've always felt that you shouldn't load up on the bench press when you lack the core strength to do a basic push-up with proper form. Nor should you be jumping over hurdles if you can't stick the landing without your chest falling forward, or knees pinching together. And why, oh why would you run towing a parachute or a sled when you haven't yet mastered the fundamentals of good running form with your own body weight? Forget this nonsense about getting caught up in how much weight you can put up, or doing plyometrics to become "more explosive" when you've yet to develop a stable base beneath you. Concentrate on getting the basics down first by improving total body strength and mobility and leave the more advanced stuff for later on down the line when you're more physically prepared.

3. Too much machine based training: Despite the fact that they're often mistakenly thought to be "safer" than things like free weights, the majority of workout machines are not well suited for young athletes. For starters, most machines offer only guided, two-dimensional resistance- where you push a weight along a set path and then try to resist it on that same path on the way back. Unfortunately, that's not the way our bodies move. Everything we do, from running and jumping, to lifting and climbing requires an ongoing interplay between stability and mobility. And the simple fact is, you just can’t train for that with most machines! About all you will accomplish is strengthening your muscles through a predetermined range of motion, which is not what they'll encounter out on the playing field.

Take the Smith machine for example- where the bar glides up and down a set of support beams and allows a person to easily un-rack and rack the weights. At first look, this might seem like a safe way to do exercises like barbell squats, but in reality it can actually do more harm than good. By essentially negating the natural arc that the weight would normally follow, squatting on the Smith machine reduces the contribution of the powerful hamstring muscles, effectively placing much more shearing stress on the knees. This is a bad idea for anyone, but especially problematic for female athletes who are already prone to knee injuries due to their anatomical structure and over reliance on their quadriceps (the large muscles on the front of the thighs). Throw in the fact that virtually no stabilization is required to do the exercise and you can see why machines like the Smith are so despised by strength coaches like myself. What you need to do is try and stick with three dimensional, multi-joint exercises like squatting, lunging, pushing and pulling, done at first with just your own body weight and then adding weight in the form of free weights, medicine balls, kettlebells etc. once you've mastered the form. Training this way will offer a much "safer" and productive alternative to working on machines. It will also translate to much more noticeable increases in strength, speed and power.

5. Imbalanced workouts: Thanks in large part to our society's obsession with physical appearance, the majority of kids who do work out on a regular basis do so with a heavy emphasis on vanity. I get the whole concept of wanting to look good, but spending too much time chasing after a "six-pack", or pumping up your biceps will do little if anything to improve your game. Dividing your body up into different sections by working chest and triceps one day and back and shoulders the next, might be fine for bodybuilders, but it does nothing to improve athletic performance. As an athlete, you have to resist the temptation to focus on "mirror" muscles like your chest and abs and start doing the kinds of exercises that are going to give more balance to your physique and help improve performance. You can find a whole host of exercises like planks for your core and external rotations for shoulder stability, complete with pictures and descriptions, over at my website . Just click on the injury prevention tab in the menu bar and also be sure to check out the "Exercise of the Month" archives.

6. Not eating or drinking enough prior to training, or eating too much of the wrong things: This is one that rears its’ ugly head all too often. I can't tell you how many times I've had an athlete hit a wall in the early part of a workout because he or she "forgot" to eat and drink prior to their workout. You may be able to get away with that when you're just hanging out with your friends, but in the gym, it's just asking for trouble. Keep in mind, exercise has a lowering effect on blood sugar levels. If your blood sugar is already low to begin with, how are you supposed to garner up any kind of energy to exercise? Your best bet is to try and eat a meal that is low in fat and has a moderate amount of carbohydrates and protein about 60 to 90 minutes prior to your workout. This can include things like yogurt (preferably Greek), whole grain cereals with skim, or low fat milk, eggs with whole grain toast, grilled chicken with whole wheat pasta and vegetables, or a protein and fruit smoothie. You also want to make sure that you're properly hydrated by drinking 6-8 ounces of water at least 30 minutes prior to training as well as an additional 4-6 ounces every fifteen minutes during your workout.

Of course filling up on the wrong types of foods before your workout can be just as big a problem. Heavy meals that consist of fast foods, pizza and other high-fat, high-calorie choices can wreak havoc on your energy levels. Whether it's due to the fact that they take longer to digest, or the rapid spikes and subsequent drops they cause in your blood sugar levels, foods such as these can often leave you feeling devoid of energy. So, if you must indulge, besides limiting their amounts, try and make sure to avoid them in the period leading up to your workout.

I realize that I've hit you with quite a bit here, but correcting even a couple of these common training mistakes can lead to much more enjoyable and productive workouts. Taking the time to make sure your body is properly fueled, doing a thorough warm-up and working hard on basic, functional movements will not only lead to improvements in the short term, but when done consistently, will help you form good workout habits for years to come.

For more information on Mike Mejia's B.A.S.E. Sports Conditioning Programs click here.