5 things i’d never do as a trainer
Are you falling for these bad habits in your workouts?
In the health and fitness world, what you don’t do is just as important as what you do. While I’ve spent countless hours encouraging clients to follow specific programs and routines, a big part of my job is discouraging people from picking up bad habits. The last thing you need to be doing is working tirelessly to achieve your goals while getting in your own way and hurting your progress.
Today I want to take a deep dive into 5 things I’d never do (or tell a client to do) when working out and navigating wellness living. If you can stay clear of these you’ll be sure to get the most out of every workout and stay injury-free.
Here’s to building more sustainable, efficient fitness habits!
Before we get into the good stuff, I want to provide a couple of disclaimers. The reality is, health and science research is always moving and changing. What works for one trainer or athlete may not be as relevant for another. With that being said, please understand that the points pulled below are simply a product of my professional and personal experience in the health industry. If you have any other habits you’d like to see on this list, I’d love to hear them!
Similar to point one, general health advice is hard to give as we’re all struggling with different injuries, diseases, life stressors, and more. My hope is that you’d take this advice with a grain of salt and talk to your health provider if you have any doubts about your fitness and overall health status. It never hurts to get another set of eyes on your situation to make your workouts as effective and relevant to you as possible!
Now with all that out of the way, here are 5 things to avoid if you want to maximize your health and fitness.
1) Doing Static Stretching Before Workouts
You’ve likely heard by now that static stretching isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. While it can feel good, it usually doesn’t make lasting changes to the body’s infrastructure because we never do it for long enough or intentionally enough while warming up. If you want to get more out of those precious few minutes, a dynamic warm-up is the way to go.
Being more dynamic in your approach will open up the gates to better mobility. This is your ability to move through a certain range of motion while stabilizing your joints and the surrounding tissues. It’s also an avenue for gaining muscular strength functionality. While it gives you a similar sensation to static stretching, this practice also enhances your motor control and overall movement quality. This will be a far better method for prepping you for the work ahead while eliminating injury risk.
From a general health perspective, this practice is invaluable. As opposed to temporarily ‘lengthening’ muscle fibers, you transform the very makeup of your joints. This will lead to significant nervous system changes and can foster lasting effects. If you want stronger, more robust joints and muscles, dynamic stretching is the way to go!
2) Using Barbells for Complete Beginners
While barbells have a time and place, I wouldn’t recommend them for beginners. Why? They come with quite a long list of disadvantages and injury risks for untrained individuals. For one, most novices shouldn’t focus on lifting heavy but instead, build a strong base and understanding for fundamental exercises like the squat and row in a safe setting. Additionally, barbell movements aren’t necessary most of the time as there is a machine or bodyweight substitute that will be better for practicing the basics. If you need more convincing, here are three points to consider.
Please note that the first two points are mainly targeted toward upper body movements like presses and curls. In no particular order…
1. Potential damage to joints.
When we train with a bar, we’re stuck in a fixed plane of motion. Essentially, we are at the mercy of the path of the barbell, and while this may be beneficial in some circumstances, it can wear down joints. This is especially problematic for the wrists, elbows, and shoulders.
Just take a bicep curl for example. When we curl with a barbell, the elbows and wrists have no real estate to move freely. While you may still feel a good stimulus as you curl this weight, you’re not lifting optimally. This is because our arms have a carrying angle that makes them more inclined to move in a slightly diagonal plane while moving. You can easily test this on yourself by placing your arms by your side with palms facing away from you. Notice how they naturally angle out?
By using a barbell for an exercise like the dumbbell curl, we’re forcing the elbow joint to move through a fixed range of motion. This is going to add unnecessary force and shearing to the elbow which will likely lead to consequences over time. The same thing can be said about other movements such as a strict press or bench press. Dumbbells and cable machines will be much more suitable for these exercises.
2. Overall loss in functionality.
Due to the fixed-plane nature of barbell work, we can lose some of the ‘functionality’ that resistance training brings. The reality is, we’re not moving like robots in our everyday lives. While this training can have a time and a place, solely using barbells will cost you as it’s less relevant to other activities of life.
When using cable machines and free weights, there is a certain level of stability and motor control required that cannot be created in a barbell context. This downfall is especially noticeable when recovering from injuries. As a kinesiologist, I rarely have rehab clients using barbells because it’s critical to challenge areas like motor control, balance, and muscle coordination. While the barbell can challenge some of these areas, the fixed position will certainly limit your ability to optimize the musculoskeletal and nervous system’s relationship over time.
3. Failing principle of specificity.
The principle of specificity states that fitness training should be relevant and appropriate to the sport (or activity) for which the individual is training to produce the desired effect. You can see how this checks out for Olympic lifters because their sport revolves around barbells. For many of us, however, this won’t be as relevant. When we account for the negative side of using this piece of equipment, mere irrelevance can turn into becoming flat-out destructive.
Before you pick up a barbell as a beginner, question why you’re wanting to use it. More often than not, you’ll be better off doing a free-weight, machine-based, or calisthenic alternative instead.
3) Being Sedentary After a Workout
This is more targeted towards cardio training but will still be very relevant to resistance training as well. After you’re finished a tough workout, the last thing you should do is rest completely. While it may seem counterintuitive, what your body needs the most during your recovery is a little bit more movement. The short window of time after your peak effort (anywhere from 5–30min) is a fantastic opportunity for you to aid in your short-term and long-term recovery.
Doing something like a slow jog, walk, or dynamic mobility-focused cooldown routine (yes, even foam rolling may help) can not only clear lactic acid faster, but will also improve your motor control and overall movement quality when you’re most fatigued. While the results won’t be life-changing, there is evidence to show that this practice can help reduce D.O.M.S (delayed-onset-muscle-soreness) and help you expedite your recuperation.
This small window can also provide you with just enough time to reflect on your workout and wind down mentally as you prep for whatever else you have planned for the day. Don’t skip this key step if you want to get the most out of every workout while avoiding burnout in the long run!
4) Resting a Minor Injury
If you haven’t broken a bone or done any major damage to your tissues, you’ll almost always benefit from diving right into physical therapy. Even if it's the most subtle of exercises, moving your body to whatever capacity you’re capable of will do much more good than waving the towel and staying sedentary in a passive attempt to heal things up.
Why is this though? Wouldn’t it make more logical sense to rest the joints and muscles entirely if they’re hurting?
While exercising when you’re most vulnerable can be tough and scary, it almost acts as a natural medicine for your injured site. If you follow a progressive, well-paced rehab program, you can push your tissues to return to function by strengthening them all while circulating more blood and nutrients around the body.
This is especially critical for musculoskeletal injuries as there is often a time window to ensure you get back to full strength without any lasting damage. Even complications like tendon and meniscus injuries can be expedited through this process!
There’s also a psychological element to all of this that many patients overlook. By starting physical therapy as soon as safely possible, you’re actively willing your body to heal in a way that puts you in the driver’s seat of your health.
While pills and surgeries have their place, there is something so honest, constructive, and powerful about getting out of your comfort zone and recovering in a non-invasive, sustainable way. There’s no better feeling than working hard, staying patient, and seeing the results.
5) Comparing to Other People’s Fitness Journeys
While you may roll your eyes at how often you’ve heard this advice, it doesn’t take away from how important it is. While it can be incredibly tempting to focus on what others are doing around you, it can quickly eat you up and take the enjoyment and purpose out of pursuing health and fitness.
One thing I encourage my clients to do is take occasional breaks from focusing on data to get in tune with what their body is feeling and put away all distractions. This can look like leaving your running watch at home or ditching your leg day sets for a creative bodyweight-focused session that challenges other health markers like mobility and coordination. Not only are these breaks from the norm fun, but they’re also actually quite challenging in their own right as they’ll push your body in fresh ways while requiring you to be motivated by different factors.
I find the easiest way to ‘stay in your own lane’ is to have a wider lens of what health and wellness living looks like. While it’s fantastic to have goals like breaking a PB in the 10k or lifting a new deadlift max, remind yourself of how your hard work is impacting other aspects of your life along with your future self. Perhaps you’re now better suited for your physical job, or your new routine has enabled you to pick up another sport without getting injured.
Whatever it is, remember the big-picture ‘why’ for whatever physical activity endeavors you’re pursuing. You can even take it one step further by keeping a fitness journal to document each success along the way! This is one of the most impactful habits you can do for staying happy and healthy while pushing your body to its limits.
The road to being a healthier, fitter you is not easy. While there is a seemingly endless list of things you should be doing, there is also an equally large list of bad habits to avoid. Yes, it can feel overwhelming at first, but if you can focus on impactful mindset shifts like the ones covered today, you’ll be well on your way to achieving greatness in the gym and beyond.
-David
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