7 Deadly Sins Of Muscle Building

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Happy Holidays to everyone and I hope Santa brought you everything you wanted/needed for Christmas.

I know it’s the holidays and I probably should do a holiday post like the rest of the blogosphere, but I can’t think of anything good.

However, this one has been in my head for a couple of days so I thought I’d spit it out.

I’m a Christian man, so this one hits a little close to home.  But I thought you’d like the nice spin on this one.

Sin #1 Wrath – Anger/High Stress Levels

There has been plenty of scientific evidence that say anger and high stress levels introduce toxins into the system that inhibit muscle growth.  It’s important to note that these conditions are meant to be temporary states.  If your body maintains them for too long, it can be detrimental to your heart and immune system.

Perhaps the biggest problem here is that anger and high stress levels reduce the effectiveness of your precious recovery time.   Without recovery time, your muscles will never grow to their full potential.

Sin #2 Greed – Wanting It All Right Now

Time can be your biggest companion or biggest obstacle when you’re in the gym.   If you understand that a great body takes Time to build and that there are NO shortcuts (unless you want steroids) then time will work with you.  However, if you want that comic book body right away, you’ll end up frustrated and leave the gym before you ever give yourself a chance.  I’ve seen it happen too many times.  PATIENCE really is a virtue you need in the gym.

Sin #3 Sloth – Being Lazy

This goes without saying and most people realize that you have to actually do a workout to build muscle.  But getting off your butt isn’t enough.  You can’t be lazy on your reps, lazy on your sets, lazy in your preparation, lazy in your cardio, or lazy in your nutrition.  These will all shoot you in the foot.  You have to be active in every stage of the game to see effective and efficient muscle building.

Sin #4 Pride – Egotrippin’

Your pride can lead to injuries in the gym – quickly.  You may think you’re Arnold and lift a weight that’s too heavy or ignore your body when it’s telling you to stop.  Your few moments of showing off (all guys do it) could land you out of the gym for months or worse – on a surgeon’s table.  Do yourself a favor and adhere to the old high school gym mantra and “leave your ego at the door”.

Sin #5 Lust – Obsession

Technically this sin means to desire sexual intercourse with another person, but I didn’t see how I could make that fit without just being weird.

Passion, like most things in life, should be taken in moderation.  Overly passionate about anything can lead to obsession.  Obsession on just about anything isn’t good, including building muscle.  You do have to make a lifestyle change to be effective at this, but please have another life outside of this.  You can imagine all of the nasty consequences to “living” in the gym and being a “muscle head”.

Sin #6 Envy – Comparing Yourself With The Next Man

It’s OK to have an idol, but never lose sight of who you are and your individuality.  We all go to the gym and see the guy that has the body we want.  It’s easy to get caught up in this “competition” and lose sight of your goals.  It’s easy to lose sight of why YOU are in the gym.  Whoever put on their goal list that they “wanted to beat the guy next to them”? (well some have, but this isn’t a very good goal…)  I hope you’re in the gym for yourself and not to outshine someone else.

This is quick way to lose focus and lose Motivation.

Sin #7 Gluttony  – Over-training

This sin refers to over-indulgence.  Many beginners think they have to be in the gym Everyday or follow some ridiculous split in order to see results.  If you’re just starting out, you can almost list twice a week and see great results.  Only if you’ve been training a while should you do 4 or 5 day workouts.

Don’t get obsessed with the gym.  That’s not where the magic happens.  The magic happens the moment you put down that last weight.  So you should be focused on doing the most effective workout followed by the right amount of recovery time for your body.

These were more principle based, but which of these sins have you committed?

Until next time, Happy Lifting!

Mitch

Related posts:

1. How To Set Muscle Building Goals and Achieve Them – Part 1
2. How To Set Your Muscle Building Goals And Achieve Them – Part 2