#175: 5 Ways You're Sabotaging Your Results in the Weight Room

Every time I go to the gym, I see it: women who are showing up, putting in the time, and quietly sabotaging their own results without knowing it.

Today I wanted to share five things I see over and over again that are stopping women from getting the results they could be getting from the time they're putting in.

If you're already lifting and you want more results, you want to get even stronger and build more muscle, make sure you're NOT doing one of these.

Enjoy the show!

Resources mentioned:

Free workout tracker >

Strength Training Membership > 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Welcome to 40 Plus Fitness for Women. I'm Lynn Sedderloff Airisto, your host, and I'm a certified menopause fitness coach helping women to build the bodies that they want to spend the rest of their lives in. And just last week I got this amazing message from one of my newest members who writes, Hi Lynn, I reached out to you about two months ago because I wasn't seeing results after doing a push-pull program consistently for some time. I've been following your program for seven weeks and I've had amazing results. I'm already seeing muscle definition, strength gains, and fat loss. Thank you for your insight and advice. And this just sparked this episode because there are so many mistakes that I see women doing in the weight room every time I go in there. And there are things that are stopping them from actually getting results from the time that they're spending. So I wanted to share five mistakes that I see over and over again and take a listen and see if maybe you are guilty of one of these. Because if you can fix this, you will get more out of what you're doing. Okay, this first one is one that I hope that none of you are doing is going to the weight room and then just not using any of the equipment. The equipment is there to help you get results much, much faster. And I get it that some people go there because they have some physical therapy that they need to do. And yes, then they're going to be using the rubber bands and they're going to be doing different things. But then I see women who are lying on the floor doing hip thrusts with just their body weight. And in my mind, I'm thinking, great, but you know what? There's a machine downstairs that'll let you do a hip thrust, and it allows you to add weight at your level. I mean, if you use it empty, you have no weight. So it's just like doing body weight. So you could at least put five kilos on there. Your glutes are pretty big muscles, your legs are pretty strong. Or if that feels uncomfortable for you, just grab a dumbbell and put it on your hips and use that. But start to slowly challenge yourself over time. So that's something that I find kind of a shame that you know you get all the way there and then you're not actually strength training. The second thing I see is people who are kind of at the other end of the spectrum where they're very, very excited about strength training and then they're doing a lot of volume. Volume meaning a lot of sets while they're in the gym. But they are not being very strategic about how they choose their volume. They are doing redundant exercises. So redundant exercises are exercises that train the same muscles using the same movement pattern. So, for example, a squat and a split squat, they are the same movement pattern or doing RDLs and hyperextensions. They're both hip hinge movements. So you don't need both of them in the same workout. And there's an exception to this, and I'll get to that at the end. The reason is that each working set that you do on a particular muscle is less stimulatory than the one before. So the first set is the most stimulatory, the next one is a little less, the third one is even less, the fourth one even less. So you're getting diminishing returns for the time and effort that you're putting in. So really, I never do more than three sets of a particular exercise in a workout. That works as a pretty good guideline for anybody. And two sets is generally plenty. And if you're really running out of time, just do one because there you've gotten your most effective set right there. And then you can walk away. But anyway, I digress. So the point is that if you're doing two redundant exercises, let's say it's the RDLs and the hyperextensions, you know, you've done three sets of RDLs, then you go to the hyperextensions, which are training the same muscles in the same way. Essentially, that's like having sets four, five, and six for that exercise. Four, five, and six are not very bang for buck, right? Okay, so you get the point. And I mentioned that there is an exception to this. If you're a more advanced lifter, so your form is really good, you're feeling really comfortable, it's easier for you to switch from one exercise to another, then you could have redundant exercises in your programming, but then you would do only like one max two sets of each of them, okay? But that's a little bit more advanced. I've been playing around with that on some exercises, and and I'm doing it actually. Well, okay, so this is a little bit of an aside, but I'm doing that actually to see if I can get myself to lift even harder. Because if you know you only need to do two sets of a particular exercise, you approach it just mentally in a whole different way. You're like, I only have two chances to really do this one hard. And so, yeah, you you kind of push harder, at least I do. But anyway, but that's like four plus years down the road that you need to be thinking about that, and that's only something you could play with. You don't need to be doing it. Okay. All right, number three. This is a dead giveaway that you are not training hard enough to stimulate any kind of muscle growth or strength gains. You're able to chat with your friend during your set. And I see this all the time. Women who've gotten started, they're there together, they're like, you know, one of them gets on the machine, they're doing their leg extensions, whatever. They they're continuing the conversation totally normally. People also do it like they'll be talking on the phone and they're doing their set. And I'm thinking, like, what's the point? Why are you even showing up here? You know, tell them, hold on, I gotta do a set, put the phone down, do your set, then continue your conversation in the pause between sets because you should be working hard. You should be concentrating on doing your set. And if you're not, you're just going through the motions, you're not training. Sorry, tough love. Number four, a big clue that you're not getting the most you could get out of your strength training session, is that you're not tracking. So that means you probably don't have a program, you're kind of winging it, you're showing up, you're like, I think this is what I did last time. Then you put the pin in somewhere, you pick up a weight, and you're like, Yeah, this seems pretty good, and then you go through the motions. I promise you, if you start being systematic, writing down your weights and your reps, doing the same exercises week after week for eight to 12 weeks, and constantly pushing yourself to do a little bit more and a little bit more, it is gonna be a whole different story for you. All right. Don't go in there and wing it. You really are kind of wasting your time, or you're just gonna get so much less for the time that you're spending there. And yeah, I've heard people say, Yeah, I remember what I had last time. I don't remember what I had last time because each of my sets, I have a different number, right? And maybe only five on my third, and then I'm doing six exercises. Really? Are you remembering all those numbers accurately for sure? I doubt it. I mean, okay, there may be some unicorns out there with incredible memories, and I'm completely jealous of you. But honestly, like us mere mortals, write it down. And by the way, if you don't have a tracker, I do. So you can go to my website and download my free, it's a paper tracker, or you can actually use it as a Google Sheet so it can be online. It's at www.befitafter40.com slash tracker. Surprise, surprise. And the fifth mistake actually comes more from beginner lifters that I talk to, ones that are in my programs. So I'm sure this happens all over the place. So I wanted to bring this one up as well. So if you are given a goal of trying to work up to 12 reps, it's not like 12 reps is this magic number, like you cannot do a 13th rep, okay? And you certainly couldn't do a 14th rep. Of course you can. If you're in your set and you hit the top of your rep range, so 12 reps, and you're like, hmm, I could still do one or two or three or six more, then do one or two or three or six more. And by the way, if you're doing three, four, five, six more, you should absolutely be increasing your weights for your next set. Don't even wait for your next workout. Do it in your next set. Okay. So this is just, I think, a misunderstanding that even if you're aiming for a target breath range, for most of my people, it's eight to twelve reps. It doesn't mean that you can't do more than 12 reps. And in fact, in cases where, for example, the next step up in weights is so big, because you know, dumbbells, they might go up in five pound or or you know, bigger increments, and it's just too much for you to increase that much, then go ahead and do longer sets. The point is that you should be getting close to failure. Like the last one or two reps should feel really hard. You should not be able to have the conversation with your friend. You should be focusing completely on, oh my god, I gotta get this up. Okay. That's when you know that you will make a change. You need to tell your body, like, what are we doing here? You're telling your body that, hey, I'm not as strong as I need to be. Notice I need to be lifting things that are this heavy. So, hey, body, you need to be putting more muscle tissue on my body. That's what we're doing in strength training. We are convincing our bodies that we need more muscle so that it'll put on more muscle. And that's not going to happen if we're just lifting to the point where, oh yeah, this feels really comfortable. I can do this. No, we need to go a little into the uncomfortable zone. So don't force yourself to stop at 12 reps. Go ahead and finish your set out at the point where you're starting to feel like, oh, I can maybe do one or zero more reps. All right, so to recap, if you're gonna go into the gym, use the equipment. Please don't just do your hip thrusts on the floor. Obviously, if you are there because you have a physical therapist who has given you particular exercises to do, then absolutely this advice does not apply to you. But if you're in there to get stronger, then use the equipment. I would say 99.9% of the time, that exercise that you're trying to do with just your body weight, you can find equipment that'll help you to do it even better. Okay. So please use the equipment. That's what you're there for. Second thing is get rid of those redundant exercises. They are just taking away from the effectiveness and the efficiency of the session that you're doing. So toss those out and bring in some others. Honestly, in a session, you really don't need, and I think the more advanced you get, you realize that six exercises is more than enough. And beyond that, you start to get really overtired. So if you think about you can only do six exercises and you need to hit all the muscle groups that you want to hit, you have to be pretty smart about picking your exercises. I draw the analogy to going away on a trip for a week and then you've got to pack in just your carry-on bag. You have to be smart about what you pack, right? That's what a good program is for. Okay, please don't chat with your friends during your sets. If you have a friend there, just be like, hold on a second, I'm gonna do my set, and then you do your set and show them the same respect. As soon as they start doing their set, you zip it and you continue your conversation when you're both recovering between sets. And please track, okay? That already is gonna make a huge, huge difference because you'll know where you are and what you've been able to do and where you need to kind of beat. You know, you make sure that you actually progress. It's important to progress. And then don't stop your set just because you've hit the top of your rep range. So if you've been told to do 8 to 12, don't think that 12 is some magic wall that you cannot go beyond. If you have it in you to do a 13th rep, 14th rep, do it. Okay, because that set is only effective if you bring it to the point where you're close to failure. You need to trigger your muscle growth, and that's how you do it. All right, I have to say every time I go out in the gym, I'm like, oh my god, I need to talk about that. I need to talk about that. So I'll probably do some more of these. A lot of times it's about form though, where I'm like, oh, this person doesn't know how to do this exercise, and I wish they would look at a video, or I wish they would take a video of themselves. By the way, take videos of yourself, look at what you're looking like. And if you're in my programs, send them to me and I'm happy to take a look at them and tell you where you could tweak it. We can all improve our form endlessly. Okay. And by the way, if you are strength training and you want to start getting more out of the time you're spending, then try out my membership. I have home and gym options and you can train two, three, or four days a week. I am there with you in the app. The app is amazing. People love the app because you get to track everything. There are alternate exercises, there are the videos explaining exactly how to do each exercise. Plus, the app allows you to link to your other fitness apps to track your steps or your calories or whatever you're tracking, also. So it is a very nice app. If you're interested in that, check the link in the show notes. And with that, I'd leave you until next week and wish you happy training.