Did you go beast mode today at the gym?
Did you go so hard that you thought you were gonna puke?
No? Dude, you’re such a pussy.
…
No pain. No gain.
Go heavy or go home.
“Some third stereotypical weightlifting quote…”
Okay, so I was totally just being a parody of myself for a second. lol
And I said those first few lines to make a point about one of the biggest and most common mistakes when it comes to strength training and trying to lose body fat at the same time.
And if you’re having a hard time getting lean while you’re working out in the gym, then you’re going to want to read this all the way to the end…
This Mistake is a Very “Bro” Idea
I know that you’ve been taught for a really long time that you need to go “balls to the wall” and “all out beast mode” when you go to the gym…
However, this idea is not intuitive for getting lean and shredded.
You see, when you’re trying to get lean, you have to put your body in a caloric deficit.
That means you’re actually expending more energy than your body needs in order to maintain its current weight.
Pushing to Failure Will Limit Your Body’s Ability to Recover
When you’re in a caloric deficit and your body is literally eating itself for fuel, it’s extremely important that you give your body every tool and piece of energy that it needs to recover.
What sucks, is eventually you’re going to lose strength when your goal is to get lean.
Your body can really only go so long stressing your muscles while it’s in a catabolic state.
So for a while, as long as you have some energy stored up in your body fat stores and glycogen stores, you’ll still be able to make pretty good gains and increases in strength.
The real place that pushing hard in the gym is relevant is when you are proactively trying to gain weight.
You Need to Be in a Caloric Surplus for Maximum Weight Gain
This means you’re supplying your body with more calories than it needs to maintain its current composition.
This is what most guys commonly refer to as a “bulking phase”.
And in this phase, building new muscle becomes very easy.
When you’re bulking, you can push yourself extremely hard and go for personal records.
But when you’re trying to lean down, you need to hold back to an extent.
How to Prevent Yourself From Pushing Too Hard in the Gym
So, if you need to throttle back during your leanness phase, here are some tips that can make things more manageable.
1. Get Enough Sleep
This really can’t be said enough, but if you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re not going to make good progress either building muscle or losing body fat.
Training is only one piece of the bodybuilding puzzle.
The other parts include eating a good diet, relieving yourself of stress, and getting as much sleep as you possibly can.
Now I know as a busy college student, this might sound completely impossible, but other students have done it in the past and I know that you can do it too.
2. Eat Enough Carbohydrates
I know this sounds counterintuitive to what I’ve been telling you about eating fewer calories…
However, you still have some calories to eat and out of those calories a considerable amount should be carbohydrates.
I’m not a huge fan of ketogenic diets or any sort of meal plan that has you going very low carb while you’re actively trying to maintain or increase your strength.
Extreme carb restriction might work for a lot of people, but for the vast majority of people, carbohydrates are going to be your primary fuel source.
And if you’re not supplying your body with enough, it’s going to be very hard for you to recover from one workout to the next.
3. Don’t Push Your Reps to Failure
Now this is the most important point and something that comes with a little bit of experience in the gym, but once you catch on to it, it’s going to be invaluable in your training.
And the idea is this… You can count an exercise rep as “failed” if it meets one of these criteria…
- You need someone to help you
- Your form breaks down
- You injure yourself
If one of those things occurs, you failed that rep.
There’s no question about it.
So what you need to do instead, is practice becoming more in tune with your body and how it feels as you complete your sets and reps in your workouts.
For your main compound exercises, if you fear that you may not safely complete the very next rep without requiring help from someone, breaking down your form, or injuring yourself… then stop.
You’re officially done with that set.
When it comes to assistance exercises, you don’t even want to push yourself as hard as that.
Instead, it’s best to keep two or even three additional reps in the tank before tapping out on a set.
There’s no reason to completely drain yourself on a set of bicep curls when your goal is to lose body fat.
If you want to gain muscle, then you need to switch your goals and priorities instead.
Conclusion
So that’s a common training mistake I see among new lifters who are trying to lose weight while strength training.
I know there are a ton of great motivational quotes and memes that are going to spike your adrenaline and make you think that you’re a pansy if you don’t give 200% in the gym.
But when it comes to getting lean, there are a lot of variables and factors at play that you have to take into account.
And making sure that you’re managing your ability to recover is extremely important.
Leave a comment below and tell me about a time in the past when you think you pushed yourself too hard in the gym.