Doing It The Wrong Way

Here are the 10 most common mistakes I see in a gym - and I see these mistakes almost every time!

1. Walking on Treadmill while holding on with hands. This is cheating. If you need to hold on, then the speed is too high and or the incline is too steep.

2. Resting between sets: I see way too many guys reading a magazine or chatting with their buddies in between sets. Here's the deal: if more than a minute goes by between sets, you're either a Division 1 football player in the Strength Phase of your sport specific strength training program that demands a 2:30 rest period, or your a 'Joe' wasting time in the gym.

3. Overweight men & women lying on their back doing abs. If you are overweight, you need to be doing exercises that are getting - and keeping - your heart rate up. That means staying on your feet (weight-bearing exercises). 100 crunches a day will firm up your abs, which will always remain buried under 25 extra pounds of fat. I promise you that crunches do nothing to eliminate the fat weight on your gut.

4. Skinny girls doing Pilates. Not the best use of your exercise time. Lifting weights is more effective and can teach the same virtues as those of Pilates. A popular benefit cited by Pilates enthusiasts, 'lengthening' muscles, is a misnomer. You cannot make a muscle longer. Muscles attach to bone via tendons and ligaments. Unless your bones grow longer, your muscles cannot get longer. Now you can and will get more flexible, but a flexible Serena Williams is still a very muscular women.

5. Guys wearing pants in the gym. Quick giveaway that their legs are totally undeveloped because they chose to concentrate on upper body beach muscle. Result: very tight back because they stopped squatting down and bending over 5 years ago.

6. Recumbent bike TV Watchers. This bike has a good purpose: light riding for heavier people on their easy days. But what it ends up being instead is an ideal position for watching the TV on an exercise bike.

7. Poor exercise sequencing: chest and biceps are a bad combination. Your biceps act as a 'secondary mover' when pulling. Do biceps after back. Do triceps after chest.

8. Muscle targeting: guys are targeting 2 muscle groups + abs in one workout and doing this twice per week. Your better off doing 1 or 2 exercises per muscle group 3 times per week. You'll get bigger and more fit!

9. Elliptical machine: okay, I'm warming up to this machine. It’s a legit choice for those whose bodies simply can't handle the higher impact treadmill. But geez, get more into it! Bring your strides per minute up and really use those arms. Don't hold onto the arm rest handles.

10. The Smith machine: it’s tragic that this machine has found its way into most gyms. It allows your muscles to 'shut off' from having to think about what they're doing. No balance or coordination is needed, so men are able to really load up on the weight to boost their ego. Guys: who the heck cares how much weight you can lift?! Find another ego satisfier.