Top 5 Things Women do That Hinder Their Progress in the Gym

Today’s guest post is by Clint Nielsen. He has 10 years of experience with fitness and nutrition. Clint runs a no-nonsense health and fitness blog over at Crude Fitness which is all about helping others achieve their fitness goals without the gimmicks currently being promoted in the fitness industry. Check it out.

Every time I set foot in the gym, I see people that haven’t the slightest clue as to why they are there, nor what they should be doing.

I often see them struggling with weights that are way too heavy or i find gym-goers that are training with the intensity of a sloth on Valium.

I’m not trying to be sexist here by any means, as these traits often apply to both genders.

Without further hesitation, here are the Top 5 things women do that hinder their progress in the gym:

Many a girl can be found pounding the treadmill into oblivion. Why is it that you see plenty of over weight people doing this, but with zero results to show for it?

Hours and hours of pointless walking just won’t cut the cheese, let alone the mustard.

Tip: You need intensity in your workouts to make any serious progress. Sure, walking is good for your ‘well being’ (I hate that term), but it won’t provide any serious physique-changing benefits, let alone give you that desirable ‘tone’ you’re probably looking for. Trying lifting weights… that’s right. You heard me.

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve heard Miss Right say to me ‘I don’t want to lift weights as I don’t want to get too big and muscly’.

Wrong sister! This is the WORST decision you will make.

First of all, do you know how hard it is for a woman to put on muscle mass? It’s even harder than giving birth. OK, so it isn’t, but it’s a lot harder for girls than guys to ‘bulk up’.

Heck, it’s even hard for guys to bulk up if they do it incorrectly.

Secondly, do you see that toned woman over there by the squat rack? Well she’s been training for years, lifting heavy weights and still looks like a woman. You won’t become a massive man-lady overnight.

In addition to the above, little Miss Right tells me “I only want to do hi-rep exercises to tone my muscles”.

Wrong again.

High reps in the 20-50 range do little more than fatigue you, and make you a candidate as an extra in Richard Simmons workout videos.

Tip: Try working in the 8-12 range and see if that doesn’t tone you better than anything in the hi-rep range will. Don’t worry, you’ve got more chance of become as huge body builder as I do writing about the positives of growing hair on your palms.

Talking to friends and having a natter is high on the list of ‘progress pitfalls’.

Too often (and not just the ladies mind you) gym goers can be found working out their mouths rather than their bodies. Let’s save the chit-chat for another place. Besides, you’re hogging the the leg-opener machine I was just about to bust out a set of 50 on…

The leg-opener, the butt-clincher, the tummy-wriggler. You know the ones I’m talking about right?
They open your legs, then close them, then open them, then close them ad nauseam.

All these stupendous machines are setup to make you look like a ditz rather helping you burn fat. Avoid them at all cost. If you can sit there reading a magazine whilst you’re in the weights room, the exercise isn’t giving you the intensity that you require to improve your physique.

Editor’s comment: The gym is a place to train hard and to leave knowing that you’ve put in 100% effort. What are some other pitfalls you see wasting precious gym time? Comment below.

Swole note: Ladies, don’t think that getting a personal trainer is necessarily the solution to your problems either. Read another of Clint’s great posts about the Top 7 mistakes of a bad personal trainer so you can identify whether or not your PT is an ineffectual sham.