10 common mistakes made when setting strength training goals
still struggling to meet your strength training goals?
As you read these common fitness related mistakes I urge you to get out a pen and paper, take notes on each, and see how you relate to them. Does this speak to you and your journey?
Rae Reichlin 12.8.21
fitness Goals
We all have them.
Get toned.
Feel better.
Lose Weight.
Get Stronger.
Gain Muscle.
Lose Fat.
These are the kinds of strength training goals we ladies who lift coaches hear about every day. And while these are all great, well-intentioned goals, most people are still doing things (or not doing things) every day, every workout, that end up pushing them back to the starting line, in an entirely different direction than they intended, or leaving them completely stagnant in working towards achieving these goals.
SO STUDY UP AND STOP MAKING THESE COMMON MISTAKES!
1. SETTING UNREALISTIC AND/OR VAGUE GOALS
Welcome to 2021, the culture of instant gratification and “I want it now.” Fortunately for us, most times we can get what we want on demand. Unfortunately for us, this is not so with fitness, strength training, or body composition goals.
People want to lose 20 lbs, yet they have never attempted to lose even 5. They want to get strong and change their body composition, yet they haven’t invested in a personal trainer or looked into a nutritionist. The goal is to enter a power-lifting competition happening in 5 months but they haven’t factored in their upcoming 2-week vacation, 10 hour work day, or general lack of time.
When we think about setting goals we want them to be SMART GOALS. Meaning…
S: specific
set a clear cut goal.
Lose 10 lbs. Deadlift 150 x5. Get to the gym 3 days a week
M: measurable
Track that goal in a meaningful way.
Take your bodyweight once a week, follow a strength training program and log your sessions. Set which days you will go to the gym and keep those dates.
A: achievable
The goal should be realistic and achievable. We want a goal that is going to stretch your abilities yet still remain possible.
Make sure other constraints in your life are not going to stand in the way of this goal. And if they do, that doesn’t mean you need to give up on the goal, you may just need to re-orient the way you get to it.
R: relevant
This goal should matter to you and should include a “why”
What is your why? How will accomplishing this goal improve your life and well being?
T: time-bound
Give yourself a timeline. When do you want to accomplish this goal by? Make sure you are giving yourself a timeline that allows you do accomplish this goal in a rational way.
2. not tracking your progress
How will you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you came from? Depending on your goal, progress can take on many different forms, but no matter the goal, you should find a way to track it in an objective way.
For instance, if your goal was mostly concerned with gaining strength and muscle, tracking progress via a workout journal and progress photos may be a good option.
A simple way to keep a workout journal would be to get a notebook and write out your program each workout. As you go through your strength training workout, write out the weights you used for both your warm up and working sets, followed by how they felt on a 1-10 scale. 1 being impossible and 10 being totally doable with great form.
This way, when you return to that same exercise next week, you can pick up where you left off, going heavier since last week you wrote “10”, or sticking to the same weight since you only gave that exercise a “6.”
Find your way of tracking your progress that speaks to you and keeps you involved and motivated by your fitness and strength training goals!
3. not seeking out specific advice
Everybody is different. Every BODY is different. Both inside and out. One of the best parts of being a trainer is being able to teach people how to move well and live well for their body and their body alone.
So many people are used to going to fitness classes where all bodies are lumped together. “THIS” is how you do a deadlift and only THIS. Well, what about if you have lower back pain? What if your legs are twice as long as your torso? Yes, there is a general way to do most movements, but many times your specific bio-mechanics will dictate the best way for you to perform a movement, and this is worthy of learning!
This can apply to your diet as well. For those who feel like they have tried every diet under the sun and still aren’t looking or feeling the way they want to- it may be time to work with a coach to figure out what might work better for your individual goals.
Check out our transformer and ambassador programs to work with our Ladies Who Lift coaches and get advice specific to you!
4. not eating enough
No matter the goal-it is going to require that you are feeding and fueling your body correctly. Often and unfortunately, we see clients that are not eating enough in general, and definitely not eating enough of the right things.
Eating more of the right things and in the right amounts will often leave you feeling and looking much better than eating very little and finding yourself crashing and burning quickly and often.
5. neglecting balance
Many people think that if they want to look and perform a certain way then they must give up all other things that will not result in them looking and performing in that way. I know I went through a long period of misery with this one.
Goals often take longer to reach than we imagine, and often once we get there, we want to keep whatever result it was we found. So in order to get there and stay here, we need consistency above all things.
In order to have consistency, you need to have balance. You need to have a plan that works realistically within your overall life. A plan that restricts you from a social life, ever eating out, or from entire food groups, is not going to work in the long run.
6. ignoring the importance of QUALITY, INTENT, AND INTENSITY WITHIN STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUTS
It isn’t just about going through the motions but HOW you are going through them. If you are moving with poor form, poor range of motion, poor intent, little tension, and not working at the right intensity, you may not be affecting the changes in your body and strength that you want to, keeping you on the hamster wheel, but not allowing you to make any real steps forward.
If you want to make sure you are working in a way that actually affects change- work with one of our Ladies WL coaches in our TRANSFORMER program.
7. OVER EXERCISING
More is not always better. Soreness is not the best indicator of an effective workout. And rest is a totally underrated training variable.
You are not doing any good for yourself or your goals to push through exhaustion and have a bad workout. We should be able to give our strength training workouts 100% more times than not.
3-5 workouts a week is often enough, and if you feel the need to do more, or like you don’t need more rest than that? Well it might be time to check out the quality of those previous workouts or your overall relationship with exercise.
8. SACRIFICING SLEEP TO EXERCISE
Sleep and strength training. They are like milk and cookies, a perfect compliment to one another. 7-8 hours of sleep is necessary for optimal brain and body function, and while it’s true that mornings can be the best time to get a workout in, it’s important that you are not sacrificing your sleep in the name of your workout.
It’s time to reorganize your schedule in a way that makes room for both 7-8 hours of sleep and regular exercise. What time do you usually go to bed? What are you usually doing in the hour or two before bed? Usually the answer to this question is watching tv or scrolling through your phone. While this feels like well deserved relaxation time, in reality your brain and body are still turned way on, and neither are getting the deep relaxation (aka sleep) that they desperately need. Going back to common mistake #2, start to track what time you wake up and go to sleep. Challenge yourself to put down and turn off the devices that keep you awake that extra hour and see if you are not left feeling far better for your workouts.
9. THINKING YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME
If you have an hour to workout? Amazing! But if you only have 20 minutes? IT IS STILL WORTH IT.
If you have a full day to put aside to meal prep? Dope! But if you only have 1 hour? IT IS STILL WORK IT.
Something is always going to be better than nothing, and often times getting into the habit of even doing a little bit of work towards your goal will result in valuable time management skills being built, confidence being attained, and getting one step closer to feeling like you totally got this.
Need a workout program that is custom built to your time allowance? Check out our Ladies Who Lift LEADER program.
10. too much focus on caloric burn
Time and time again people have chosen workouts that focus on burning as many calories as possible over ones that build strength. Sure it might be “sexy” to have that circle on your apple watch close, or to that, that picture for your Instagram story, but is this really the best bang for your buck? In short...nah.
Your focus should be on improving function, efficiency, and strength throughout your workouts and overtime. The benefits of focusing on these things far outweigh “burning off yesterday’s brunch.” Can you lift more than you did last week? Can you catch your breath quicker than you could a month ago? Can you get down into a lunge position with ease when before you would struggle?
These are actual fitness and health related markers that tell you that your body is absorbing and responding to the work you are putting in.
Plus, muscle mass is your body's best fat burner and metabolic stoker. It might not look as good on your fitness tracker, but the more muscle mass you have, the more your body will burn all day long, even when you are just relaxing! Work on shifting your focus from quantity to quality
