Whenever I’m at the gym I see people doing biceps and triceps exercises in ways that train everything except these muscles. A common error is performing what should be an isolation exercise as a compound movement. Isolation exercises are designed to force the targeted muscle to perform with minimal assistance from other muscle groups. Preacher curls and alternating dumbbell triceps extensions are examples of exercises that, when performed correctly, place maximum emphasis on the biceps and triceps.

On the other hand, compound exercises encourage simultaneous and coordinated work between various muscle groups. Squats, bench presses and deadlifts demonstrate compound weightlifting movements. While compound movements excel for developing overall body strength, isolation exercises stimulate superior growth in targeted muscle area.

When an isolation movement is performed in compound fashion, the intended benefit of isolation training is lost. For example, some bodybuilders favor preacher curls as a mass builder for their biceps. While this exercise is very effective when done properly, incorrect performance simply wastes time and energy. The most common mistake with preacher curls is swinging or rocking the torso as the weight is lifted and lowered. Preacher curls are intended to build massive upper arms by isolating resistance on the biceps as much as possible through the training movement. But jerking or rocking the torso during this exercise enlists help from the shoulders and upper back. As a result, the intended benefit of doing preacher curls to build massive biceps is lost.

One reason that mistakes like this occur is ignorance – people just don’t know how to use proper technique when training their arms for maximum muscular development. Another and perhaps more prevalent cause of poor training technique is the impatient desire to lift too much weight too soon. Bodybuilding magazines are constantly trumpeting the need to “blast” this or that body part with increasingly heavy workloads to build muscle mass. What these magazines don’t tell you is that much of this so-called “blasting” occurs with the help of steroids or other dangerous substances.

The psychological effects of overtraining can include irritability, boredom and frustration from the lack of muscle growth. This dissatisfaction often creates a vicious cycle as many bodybuilders don’t recognize overtraining as a causal factor when experiencing poor results from their workouts. As a result, their frustration can lead to intensified training which only compounds the stagnation resulting from overtraining.

While it’s true that progressively increasing the weight in resistance training is key to building mass, you shouldn’t work with weight that is heavier than you can lift naturally and with proper technique. Don’t ever be concerned with impressing or keeping up with anyone else in the gym – especially if you’re just starting out. Even if you think it looks impressive to workout with enormous weight, you won’t get much benefit and will in fact delay your progress if you cheat on your training technique.