The 9 Mistakes To Avoid To Progress In Street Workout & Bodybuilding.

Hi there, and welcome to this new article! 😄

After writing an article on"Getting started in street workout", today we're going to look at the 9 mistakes to avoid if you want to make progress in this field.  

They are listed in order of importance, so let's go! 🔥

Mistake #9: Neglecting your hands

Don't underestimate the importance of your grip in street workout. Strengthen it so that it doesn't limit you, especially when doing pull-ups. Add suspension sets at the end of your workouts to improve it. It's normal to struggle at first, but with practice you'll make rapid progress. When you see someone hanging with one hand, you'll know it can be done with practice.

Next, take care of your calluses. They harden to protect your skin, but can tear if you do a lot of freestyle. Limit them by filing or trimming them after a bath. Avoid gloves unless necessary, as they can be more of a hindrance than a help. Your calluses are signs of your hard work, so take care of them without being ashamed of them. Learn to appreciate them as symbols of your determination and progress.

Mistake #8: Not differentiating between bent and straight arm strength

So there's a little transfer from one to the other, but it's minimal, which means that you can manage to hold a position with your arms barely bent, but it becomes impossible as soon as you fully extend them, which is an essential characteristic of almost all isometric figures.

Once again, this was an important discovery for me, having come to Street Workout from the gym fitness and weight training I'd been doing for a long time before.

All this only to realize that, despite my intermediate performance in weight training, there was plenty to start over from the beginning. And this will be the case for many athletes who have never done gymnastics or any other sport that requires it. You're going to have to learn to fight your brain, which is going to really want to bend your arms on these movements. And you can't blame it, because it's much more natural and efficient, but you're going to have to make it understand that it's different.

Mistake #7: Forgetting that some fundamentals don't change

 To progress in classic bodybuilding, as in Street Workout, you need to apply the principle of progressive overload: continually increasing the difficulty of exercises. Your body only adapts to what you impose on it, so to see improvements, you need to constantly make workouts more demanding.

Another key principle is to understand how the type of training influences results. The heavier or more difficult the exercise, the fewer reps you'll be able to do. Depending on what you want to improve, choosing the right type of training is crucial.

For example, to progress in the bench press, you add weight to the bar little by little. To progress with push-ups, you simply do more and more. But these two approaches are not equivalent. That's why bodyweight exercises are often perceived as being for beginners or warm-up exercises only.

Finally, a major mistake is not to use progression, i.e. not to gradually increase the difficulty of exercises. Understanding and applying these concepts is essential for effective progress.

Mistake #6: Not using Street Workout progressions

Because yes, simply trying to hold the figure that makes you dream is possible. But when it's still far too hard, the main risk is that you'll end up with a host of frustrations and injuries. To do this effectively, you can choose from several fundamental bodyweight progression methods.

To summarize a few of them here, if you want to make up for the jumps in difficulty between two exercises, you'll have to learn, among other things, to play with the leverage of your body, with the distribution of your weight on different muscle groups and support points, as well as modifying your weight altogether, which in my opinion deserves its own mistake.

Mistake #5: Stubbornly using only your body weight

Incidentally, this last note allows me to move smoothly on to the 4th mistake, which is forgetting the basics.

Because just because you decide to start bodyweight training doesn't mean you have to give up weights or equipment. Don't worry, you haven't joined a cult. Even if your goals are purely bodyweight, it would be a real shame to deprive yourself of everything that can help you get there faster and more efficiently.

Shedding some of your bodyweight is a fundamental way of making exercises more accessible and gradually strengthening yourself until you achieve the final movement. This is often achieved by using elastic bands of varying resistance, which are very effective.

On the other hand, adding weight to an exercise, especially one that is not very technical, is an excellent way of gaining raw strength and muscle mass, just as in indoor weight training.

I'd therefore advise you to start progressively weighting pull-ups and dips as soon as you can string a dozen together. This will pay dividends on everything else.

Incidentally, this last note allows me to move smoothly on to the fourth mistake: forgetting the basics.

Mistake #4: Forgetting the basics

Even with all these ingenious progressions to achieve the advanced figures you're interested in, you still shouldn't abandon your first loves: push-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats and their little variations.

These exercises are essential at the start, as they help to consolidate the joints, which adapt much more slowly than the muscles. This can prevent a lot of injuries later on.

But even at a more advanced level, it's not a good idea to concentrate solely on strength, for example with advanced figures. I was personally guilty of this. Since then, I've been very careful to always keep sessions specific to muscular endurance, during which I club all the basics just right, over and over again.

Mistake #3: Not following a specific street workout routine or program

 And now we enter the top 3! Starting with a common beginner's mistake.

During your studies, you follow a program and you may have developed a method for your revisions. With sport, it's the same: if you train haphazardly, your results will be random.

As we saw in the 7th mistake: you need to define goals, have a structured program, and progressively supercharge your results each week. Find credible sources, whether articles, videos, books or programs, and follow them for at least 4 to 6 weeks, taking note of your progress. You'll need to adjust your program from time to time, but not too often.

I suggest you take a look at my other videos or articles on my channel or website. My free video program of over 100 bodyweight exercise progressions and my complete 5-month beginner program"Street Workout Evolution" can also help.

This brings us to mistake number 2: being impatient.

Mistake #2: Being impatient

Being impatient means trying to increase repetitions before you've perfected the quality of each movement. This means perfect execution, full range of motion and total control of each repetition. To create a good foundation and avoid injury, I recommend videotaping yourself to analyze your movements.

Being impatient also means continuing to train despite pain. I'm not talking about burning muscles, but the pain you know is bad. It's frustrating to have to stop and rest, but it's necessary. I once had to stop for over a month after ignoring tendonitis in my elbow, and I blamed myself for forcing it.

Finally, being impatient means wanting to do too much, training without rest. Calm down and let your body recover.

Mistake No. 1: Neglecting recovery after a Street Workout or bodybuilding session

Finally, this one is not about the body, but about the importance of not neglecting everything else. Above all, don't forget the warm-up, flexibility and mobility work, as well as recovery, which includes nutrition, sleep, stress levels and general lifestyle hygiene.

All these things can multiply the benefits of your Street Workout and bodybuilding workouts, or render them almost useless if you neglect them.

The aim is to make small steps forward, week by week, over a period of years, rather than trying to change everything and succeed overnight.

One last little bonus mistake: watch out for the tendency to compare yourself with others. Focus on the positive things these people can bring you: motivation, advice, etc.

I hope you enjoyed this article, don't hesitate to leave a comment, work hard and take care of yourself 💪

You can also watch the video on mistakes to avoid to progress in Street Workout and bodybuilding.

See you soon,

Eric Flag