Whether you are a stepping into a gym for the first time or you’re a seasoned vet, you are going to want to avoid the most common gym exercise mistakes. In this video, I am going to show you 17 of the most common gym exercise mistakes and what you can do to avoid them. If gains are what you’re after, you’ll want to be getting them right.

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The first common gym exercise mistake that you might be making is on the leg extension machine. You might be running to this exercise to hammer your legs - whether it’s because you think it directly isolates the quads or because it’s just an easy to perform exercise; I suggest you utilize your time on a safer, more effective exercises to blow up your quads.

On the flip side of the legs, you might be performing leg curls to target your hamstrings. The big mistake here is driving your knees into the pad causing an over activation of the hip flexors. If this happens, then you are asking for lower back pain. Instead, activate your glutes before each rep. A better option is to perform the exercise standing or seated if you have the opportunity.

Probably the most popular gym exercise for building muscle is the DB bench press. One of the biggest mistakes that you can make when performing this exercise is to forget about leg drive. By not utilizing your lower body through each rep, you are missing out on an opportunity to move heavier weight which we know can be used to build more strength and size.

Sticking with the chest, the pec deck is another popular exercise that beginners and veterans will find themselves performing to build a big chest. A big mistake that I often see when people perform this exercise is the idea that you are supposed to “hug the tree”. By performing this motion, you are incurring more work to be done by the shoulders instead of the chest which is the muscle group you are trying to target in the first place. Instead, think of driving your back into the pad and squeezing with your chest.

The next common mistake I see is when it comes to the skull crushers. Instead of using your head as the target point of the rep, I would suggest getting the bar back overhead in order to increase the stretch on the long head of the triceps. Doing so will give greater muscle activation, leading to more muscle growth which is what you are seeking in the first place.

If you have been watching me for any length of time, you know what mistake I am going to call out on the lateral raises; pouring the pitcher at the top of each rep. By letting the pinkies raise higher than the thumbs as the arms go up, you are introducing internal rotation with elevation which is a recipe for shoulder pain and impingement.

The leg press is one of those gym exercises that I see misperformed all too often. One of the biggest mistakes I see is the foot placement; always far too high on the plate. This can cause a positioning of the body that forces the low back off the back pad of the machine which is not something that we want. Instead, bring your feet lower on the plate.

The seated DB press is one of the most commonly perform shoulder exercises that I happen to think is riddled with mistakes. While seated, it often happens that as you fatigue through the set, in order to press the dumbbells up overhead, you are drive your back into the seat. The major problem with this is the fact that it disrupts normal scapular movement through the range of motion. Instead, you would want to keep your back off the back of the seat in order to keep the scapular rhythm in check.

When it comes to building triceps, you will almost always see triceps pushdowns in somebody’s workout or program. Why? It’s a great exercise! The only problem is the way that people sometimes perform it. By not letting the wrists go into extension as you press the bar down, you are sacrificing an opportunity to for full elbow extension to make sure the triceps are doing the most work possible. So make sure that you are letting your wrists extend with each rep.

Be sure to watch the entire video to see the rest of the most common gym exercise mistakes and just how to avoid them to make sure that you are getting the best and safest gains possible.

If you are looking for a workout program that makes sure you avoid any and all gym mistakes while helping you to build muscle, head over to the ATHLEAN-X website and use the program selector to find the workout program that fits your goals today.

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