How To Avoid The Biggest Mistakes Intermediate Gym-goers Make!

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[@TigerShark316]

Beginner gains is why I work out for 3 months, quit, then come back. I get to repeat beginner gains year round! 😆

[@bigshmoke9653]

Working smarter not harder

[@Nerdybdirty]

Lmao

[@Gunzo568]

Try not to be. I know some guys from my gym who has good calibre to lift amazing weights but won't put the diligent work to get it. Whereas me, im a very small and weak guy, trying everything possible to climb it up as high as possible.

[@Sluttybags]

Same. Put in a solid 2-6 weeks, something interrupts my groove, start again 🤷‍♂️

[@willwells1194]

@@Sluttybags that's called a deload.....

[@josephdeveau4150]

Implementing leg presses was a game changer... squats always felt terrible and I just kept forcing them because I'm an idiot.

[@Dr.MikeGranato]

After finally benching 225 for a yolo double, I decided to run smolov jr back to back for bench. Was actually pretty awesome! Got a great mind-tendon connection, really learned what tendonopathy feels like.

[@zachnunya8749]

Bahahaha

[@magicjohnsins]

only doing it once but halfway through week 3, no tendinopathy yet. I have had good gains so far but would not recommend to others, nor do it again.

[@jsedge2473]

LOL

[@CeroAshura]

Ayo 💀

[@joshuavd5194]

what did your strength go up to?

[@lucasseuren4180]

I love the explanation of challenge and mastery - as a beginner you get the impression that good training is about progress in load and performance. So you define good training by lifting more or more reps and that's how you get satisfaction. But as intermediate, you need to learn to appreciate the training for the training itself, improving your skills and not just more weight/reps. And that's a hard switch to make, but it's the way to keep the fun in training and prevent frustration. A lesson I definitely need to learn as early intermediate

[@RenaissancePeriodization]

Yep, I don't think I learned that lesson for about 15 years and I paid the price in injuries and poor results! - Dr. Mike

[@williamnewsome5169]

Total agreement. At the end of my workout, my satisfaction comes from perfectly executed form, breathing, full control of weight, and quality of reps. Another benefit to this focus is being much safer on one's tendons and insertions.

[@BrofUJu]

I actually think I'm basically an intermediate now after a few years of lazy training and now one very intense year of training, a ton thanks to this channel. Really pushing myself, learning my body, adjusting my program accordingly. Awesome video.

[@ButthurtNinja]

Suspect

[@RenaissancePeriodization]

Keep on doing a good job, and thanks for the props! - Dr. Mike

[@mr.milkstash9333]

Nice, dont stop!

[@MrDeanmfitz]

@@ButthurtNinja name checks out

[@jeffcummings1194]

​@@RenaissancePeriodization l

[@lowlyloop]

Man, I was literally just thinking about this - I was in that Starting Strength culture for YEARS. And it's exactly like you said. It did great for teaching me how to move my body and move weight, and develop a foundation of strength, but I plateaued a long time ago. In the last 1 year since following this channel, and applying the RP framework, I have made huge gains. Allowing myself to expand my rep ranges and exercises, and especially increase the set volume, have made a massive improvement in my training quality. As always, thank you Dr. Mike and the RP team! However, no coffee shops? Sorry, that's where this friendship ends. This parasocial relationship feels so one sided - it's like you don't even know me!

[@benjaminralow1176]

If starting strength novice lp didn't end after 2 or 3 months it wasn't done correctly. Mark understands that you need to move into weekly then monthly programming that's why there's the book PPST

[@RenaissancePeriodization]

Yeah man, I feel that! And you know what, I TRIED to get to know you, but you keep pushing everyone around you away! LET ME LOVE YOU! - Dr. Mike

[@lowlyloop]

@@RenaissancePeriodization Oh God, I knew it, it's my own fear of intimacy that has driven me to this state of utter loneliness. Okay. I open up my heart, and my body, to your love

[@lowlyloop]

@@benjaminralow1176 Yeah, and that's totally on me. I learned the one thing, and just stuck with it for too long. Didn't do any more rigorous research. Never read PPST

[@zizroysthegreat607]

@@lowlyloop 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@lazyeagle6035]

This is such a breath of fresh air. My friend sent me a link to your channel and I couldn't be happier. The strength world needs more of this type of "rubber meets the road" content. This validates a lot of my thoughts and ideas... Great stuff.

[@alphaunit1993]

I like how I’m hitting those peaks little by little but your right switching up techniques is the key of true muscle build and recovery

[@connordavidson2813]

Great video. Would like to see more intermediate themed vids with tips to managing the common un-intended muscles/structures becoming the limiting factor. Like; anterior knee pain alterations with squats, lower back pump instead of hamstrings/glutes, grip strength with pulls (straps), and personally I struggle with long head of triceps with lat pull downs. Any alteration tips on stuff like this would be really helpful for those who're getting to those heavier loads!

[@EduardoMusasa]

Intermediate is enough for me. Just maintenance with no suffering.

[@HealingWord_Psalm107-20]

😮The whole thing about increasing time devoted to mastery occurred to me intuitively. It’s not just about adding 5lbs to the bar. It’s about working with each weight until it feels smooth, explosive, and *effortless*

[@sabertoothwallaby2937]

Yes

[@mistahozzy]

Also getting your joints stronger

[@Ap32023]

Like when goku & gohan mastered Super Sayain in the hyperbolic time chamber. Master where you're at, then move on. 💯💯

[@jame254]

Going through that myself

[@cybtb]

My biggest mistakes were not enough protein and going to bed late every night.

[@user-yv5gv7be5j]

Resting alone grows muscles doesn’t have to be long sleep

[@jaykayy4268]

@@user-yv5gv7be5j nope

[@TehIdiotOne]

@@user-yv5gv7be5j That's nonsense, sleeping is basically as important to growing muscles as doing the training itself.

[@weiss588]

@@TehIdiotOne probably more important than stimulus ( training )

[@ballinhunter12]

This couldn't come at a more perfect time for me, thank you Dr. Mike

[@Tellezeus78]

Thank you Coach Mike, for constantly filling my mind with good ideas!

[@morora.9312]

Thanks a lot for this video. It's weird but I always knew something was wrong in my training but never could point to what. Turns out I've been doing two years of minde muscle connection bullshit while having farily slow progression even though I'm sore after my workouts. Somehow convinced myself that honing in on the technique with the same weights would count as progressive overload. Heading to the gym now to look for real overload and go get back my gainz ! Thank you so much for all the knowledge you share. I have learned so much thanks to you guys !

[@inhatzulu]

Another great video!RP is for my opinion,the most informative and serious fitness channel in youtube!

[@KingOfWinter]

ive been working out consistently now for about 5 years and just recently started to learn about the mind muscle connection. I knew about it, you can’t go 5 days in a gym without someone saying the actual words but actually understanding is a different beast. The thing that helped me was playing with the speed and cadence of my reps not necessarily slowing it down but also making one part of the rep slow and the other part explosive helped me really feel it which then carried over to all my sets/reps any way I do them.

[@user-kr5wq9ek3n]

Great video. I was stuck for a while and then I forced myself to start watching your videos and other videos of the pros and I realized I can train harder than what I thought was possible and I learned to concentrate way more on technique, slow eccentrics with powerful concentric and progress started showing itself once again. Love your videos, always in the back of my head when I train now.

[@tazRenegade]

Been following RP and taking your advice for a bit now. Thank you for not keeping me stuck as a beginner!

[@nmnate]

Ahh, mind muscle connection. That must be why I really love machine preacher curls and bayesian cable curls. Something about those two that they give me a wicked stretch, very good pump (sometimes painful for a bit) and I still get a bit of DOMS despite training them regularly for the last year. I'm starting to get much less DOMS from preachers, but dropsets or clusters have DOMS back on the menu 💪

[@hodashennib6711]

Thank you so much for this and all that you do 🙏

[@sprogovac]

When I hit a plateau as an intermediate lifter, the single best thing I did to leave it was a) create a plan b) keep a workout journal c) formulate a goal. Keeping the workout journal kept me motivated, but also allowed me to figure out what programs worked better for me in terms of strength and size gains.

[@nico.a7600]

Great video Mike! Very informative 👏

[@jakedragon8753]

Always great videos, no nonsense information that almost anyone can use.

[@Leo-qm2rt]

This was fantastic! Will you be doing a similar video for Advanced trainees?

[@Jake-jv9ff]

Great vid as always Dr. Mike💪

[@ablebodied175]

The set ranges advice was great. I revently switched to doing less sets and i am getting stronger. Its so jarring to think about but it works.

[@mananmangaka7638]

thanks for making these videos it really help

[@ParvParashar]

Absolutely excellent video. Thank you! 🙏

[@SuperSaiyan32]

Once again, thank you Dr. Mike! God bless

[@nebula_M42]

Fantastic video. It came extremely handy. Specially point 5 I was wondering about that last week and I started a journal, simple notes where I keep what was my volume on that excercise last time I did it and log the changes which hopefully will be always evolving. Thanks for the knowledge man

[@23masterblade]

absolutely love this. Please more !!

[@johncolter6743]

Great talk. Very useful. Insightfelul.

[@GetOutsideYourself]

Thanks for putting this out there for free.

[@HiddenKey_210]

Thank you for this. I'm intermediate and I still train for newbie gainz and wonder why it's not working. Thank you very much. My approach will be different from here. You are a rock star coach!

[@McDanMan84]

😂😂😂 this is the funniest video I’ve watched in years 😭 he pretty much called me out on every category while cracking jokes. “Thanks Frank Zane!” 🤣

[@Kiqultra]

I'm still a beginner. All thanks to dr. mike I broke out of the optimal workout split and pump chasing and started training to failure. Learnt how to program properly and use MRV, MAV and all that good stuff. The gains have been crazy. All the credit goes to this channel along with Natural hypertrophy, Alphadestiny, Geoffrey Schofield, Mind pump tv

[@noahtheg451]

Suchhhh good information in this video Mike

[@AjLynn45thParallelFishing]

Might be the best one so far, Super Helpful !

[@napninja13]

Oh boy.. another RP video.. it really is the holiday season, huh? ❤ Edit: holy shit that “challenge week - mastery week” is a fantastic idea for me moving forward..

[@Chaosdude341]

I'll keep me ears out for the challenge week quote, thanks for sharing your favorite part. How's your training going?

[@napninja13]

@@Chaosdude341 good.. been on maintenance for a bit, so training overall has been pretty chill.. Jan. 1st starts part two of my fat loss phase (along with everyone else 😂) Wbu??

[@drip369]

100%

[@mikey.vmixes8486]

This is exactly the video I needed

[@tonisiret5557]

Been at the gym for 1 year, 11 days. And I'm starting to learn the mistakes that are outlined in this video; invaluable advice! And making people laugh while learning, increases retention 5-fold. Thanks Dr Mike! 🙏 🎉

[@Jamijitsu]

Thank you for the video!

[@nattyfatty413]

Thankfully I didn't make any of these mistakes since I had watched RP/Dr Mike extensively before I got to the Intermediate+ area

[@ianandrewwalker763]

Ugh, Gold♡ Ty Dr Mike

[@lancec3509]

THANK YOU!!! I love your knowledge and your channel. Fantastic content and insights.

[@ashtongodfrey1488]

Great information!

[@beng5318]

I got stuck in a beginner phase for too long by sticking with the 3 sets of 10. I started researching and watching yours and Jeff Nippard's videos. I saw a huge difference. I wish I had done this earlier. Thanks for your videos!

[@gcg8187]

lmao 3 sets of 10 reminds me of 2014 days

[@omgitsfridaythe13]

Did you add sets or reps? How did you alter your routine to help your progress?

[@earlgrey1]

what did you do differently?

[@PercyJackson93]

What do you do now?

[@lothar654]

Did you change your name?

[@Zach-rw6jf]

I've been an off and on gym goer since high school. Now I'm 33 at just over 4 months of 5 days/week and seeing good results. Been watching all your videos. Great stuff! Hoping I can stick to it this time and see what I'm capable of before I get too old 😬

[@notthatguy2753]

Watching this channel for a year and a half has got me hitting prs almost every session.

[@srxovmail]

As usual: amazing info and fun to watch

[@TheRajivShow]

This is pretty educational. More power to you coach! 😁

[@DrAJ_LatinAmerica]

Dr. Mike helping our gains !

[@katlynklassen809]

Best channel in this subject matter if you want to do the best you can.

[@DocOmally101]

Mike I gotta say your my favorite man of the small hat. Incredibly helpful video.

[@LusciousBodybuilding]

7:05 that joke deserves a fuming award, and you deserve on also for being the funniest guy in the fitness industry

[@CD-kl1dn]

Good subject, great video

[@jonaslarsson4238]

Damn, I really needed this.

[@adrianjames1940]

Really good video!

[@nogheadz4987]

Big fan of this video style!

[@UnhumanNewman]

Twenty four years later, I’m still a beginner but I’m making gains like a pro… little to none 😂

[@in7590]

Real 😭

[@ravon1982]

about to enter intermediate after 2yrs training hard. made good gains, and I was lazy in the food and supplements area, taking about a month off to fix my ac joint and about to go hard again but thanks to this video with a much clearer view on how am going about it.

[@mightymoeish]

Man I've been squatting 315 for a few crazy hard reps for a while. There's so many things I still learn. I still have to learn to breath properly. Consistent foot placement, focus.

[@WrestlingTournamentsDotCom]

Love your content. Do you have a video that you recommend as a starting place to learn your overall theories/opinions on training? I always feel like I'm jumping into the middle. Thank you.

[@tysjt]

When I started, I had to rely on advice from the guy who sat in the corner of the change rooms at the gym. Beginner knowledge was free, then there came a price and you can't wash that shame off. Dr Mike, amazing advice that you can use and still look your mother in the eye come Christmas time. Well, maybe not entirely but at least for a second.

[@davidec.4021]

I was rewatching the beginner mistakes video and I was hoping for something for people a bit more experienced!

[@koleary1798]

Another thing about being an intermediate lifter is recognising that, due to the fact that you're now so much stronger and capable of neuromuscularly efficient outputs, certain exercises that you may have loved as a beginner are no longer good for you. For me it's weighted dips. As a beginner I loved these as a prime builder for the pressing muscles. At this stage, doing meaningful volume with this exercise creates so much fatigue and wear that it's not worth it, at least not as a primary movement. I may still do them as a secondary compound on a day where I'm pressing or I may occasionally build up to a single heavy set of 5 just for enjoyment and to keep strength but it's no longer something I can open up the day with 4/5 sets of 6-8 reps.

[@RenaissancePeriodization]

Yesss very wise. - Dr. Mike

[@westmcgee9320]

I’ll know I’m intermediate when I understand this comment. “So much fatigue and wear that it’s not worth it” sounds like what exercises are supposed to do…yet you’ve interpreted that was a bad thing, co-signed by Dr Mike. I hope to understand this better in time.

[@vitoweak6421]

@@westmcgee9320 its more about the SFR of what the workout itself produced as you go to the gym longer you figure out how to still push hard and make gains but not to the point where it takes too long too recover from and messes up your split.

[@vancecarlson1672]

I’m becoming an intermediate and what is working for me rep range wise is 12 10 8 on smaller exercises such as lat pull downs and tricep push downs, and 8 5 3 for bigger exercises such as the barbell bench press and barbell back squat.

[@carletes13]

This video is gold, no bullshit. Damn good Israetel

[@GAMEOVERttp]

Been training for 27 years now. Owned one of the largest MMA gyms in my county and made some real good gains in both fitness and my martial arts.... i've fluxed with my weight up and down staying health while doing so. I know how my body works and how to bulk or cut effectively. I'd consider that I know a lot, and don't feel I pick up new stuff often. But this channel just goes to show we always learn new stuff. Dude your content is so good and honest.... I feel its a no bull channel, its not trying to sell me a subscription or some magic pill crazy exercise method or that normal social media bull. I actually still learn stuff when I visit weekly.... Thank you my man.

[@rileyrfitzpatrick]

As someone who started with purely bodybuilding focused training, using mind muscle connection as an indication that a set is productive definitely slowed me down. Heavy loads only cause technical breakdown if controlling a movement under heavy load is an unpracticed skill for you. Things like trying to take the traps out of delt flys ended up making lose out on a lot of the intensity thats so crucial for adaptation.

[@kayusOTM]

Thank you for this comment

[@austinhamilton9444]

Hey man, the only reason I have any traps is from years of bad delt raise form 😅

[@KomatusDozer69]

“Thanks Frank Zane” I actually LOL-ed

[@Firm-Tofu-King]

I just hit 160kg for 4 reps squat after following all your advice since a year ago, I can't believe you help people for free (we all know it gets you closer to your Italian sex machine) it's great

[@lukaposeidon8490]

That’s great dude! ATG?

[@akbananachucker2441]

@@lukaposeidon8490 what's tag mean?

[@RenaissancePeriodization]

Congratulations!!! - Dr. Mike

[@utkarsh2746]

@@akbananachucker2441 ATG is Ass-to-grass or a full depth squat.

[@Firm-Tofu-King]

@@lukaposeidon8490 yes, and a slow eccentric

[@robdavol4956]

I appreciate your explanation of Mind-Muscle Connection! Pretty sure I was getting that wrong for quite a while!

[@justinharrison1987]

#6 is a big one. Especially considering that a lot of programs (especially specialization & peaking routines) were created by/for enhanced lifters.

[@michaelgrayrn4579]

PERFECTION. Thank you for rational logic at a poetic pace

[@petor95]

Just bought a Jeff Nippard program, definitely going to tailor follow 6! (but Jeff knows his stuff, be interesting to see the customisations he's added 🤓)

[@reisslindhardt9441]

You called me out directly with the lat thing 😂😂Last year was my 3rd year of training seriously (I trained 3 years prior to that but was just a casual lifter) and on a single arm cable lat pulldown I got to the point where I could "feel" my lats like crazy, but now I realize it wasn't doing much for muscle growth (because as you could guess, I didn't get stronger on that specific exercise lol). You know your shit Dr. Thanks for remembering the intermediates! A lot of body builders on KZbin just talk about super advanced stuff.

[@charlesw3120]

Love this guy.

[@GabrielSorinBeldie]

It's official! I will call my progression blueprint the Mega-city One project! I love your videos, dr. Mike!

[@Bunia257]

Love the video! Made me realize, doing excercises is the easiest part. The planning, analysing and knowing what the hell are You doing is the hard and super scary part. So many variables to consider. Hope it all gets easier with time.

[@rockyevans1584]

I think it will, my view of it is I felt way more lost and in a constant state of adding volume and changing exercises too frequently before I had learned about the current general recommendations for programming. It's empowering once you have a good idea of all the areas you have to work with, and how to test where you primarily need to improve. Makes training feel like a video game where you upgrade yourself

[@gcg8187]

make sure you deload!!!

[@brokenarrow420]

Thank you so much for the incredible information!!! :)

[@AbbersSmileFace]

I think as a female intermediate listening to my body has been the most beneficial mentally and physically. I put way more emphasis on warm up sets to warm up my technique and make sure my muscles are firing the right ways and appropriately (making sure I'm not doing any compensations). Then I add my working set. Then feel it out. If I feel like I could handle and squeeze out a couple reps past my working set. I'll do that or I may drop set if I am feeling good. But thank god for a trainer who showed me how to do hard things and fire the muscles correctly breathing through discomfort. He got me my first couple pull-ups unassisted by form corrections and mind/muscle connection. Forever grateful for a good sports trainer and taking the time to also get a physical therapist evaluation to see how my body moves and where I was compensating and correct them with ROM and Mind/Muscle drills. Also keep in mind lifting for me is like a dance because I do aerial pole gymnastics as a sport so I have to really watch my back/spine/core stability. So when I feel really good I'll hit my back exercises but then know that's all I'm going to get for awhile because I have practice the rest of the week and may need more rest than the average person before I can train my back again. It's a dance. Yay intermediate training. Been at this for 4 years and I keep learning how to move better every day.

[@denoffitness3379]

❤thank you Mike you are the best

[@elliotnayda1767]

Thanks Doc...

[@makamurphy]

Omg that was totally me 5 years ago, no one talks about that, thank you for this video.

[@isaacgarcia9101]

Thanks frank zane 🤣🤣🤣🤣☠️☠️ had me rollin. Ur the best Mike....well you and Alex Leonidas

[@MeesterJ]

I guess I was definitely an intermediate years ago in my mid twenties when I was at the peak of my lifting career, deadlifting 180kgs, squatting and benching 110kgs. Doing lots of compounds. No perfect technique. Looking swole. Then, there came injuries and accidentally renewed party life. Now, in my mid thirties there is 100% focus and perfect technique, but the injuries keep coming. Mentally very challenging to be there and do light machines all the time...I wanna be big again!

[@bushcraftadventure5215]

TRT

[@Cenot4ph]

I've been doing most of this already by way of logic I guess, thanks for this!

[@danieldeiparine5716]

my greatest intermediate mistake was not taking a deload, not listening to my body, and Overtraining for 3 years straight... I didn't even stop knowing my lifts are going down. It was so bad that I'm only lifting 50% of my max... for 3 years...

[@nickmckinley7680]

Dr. Mike your my hero.

[@MustenMust]

This was exactly what I needed to hear. Great video! Thanks so much!

[@taidg_]

One problem I have with knowing whether I'm actually progressing in terms of strength is I don't always do the same exercises in the same order. For example with chest training, if I go to failure with DB press and then do pec fly, I hit failure on pec fly at a lower weight than if I did it first. And the reason why I sometimes have to switch the order is because of bench or machine availability at the gym 🤷‍♂️

[@br6768]

Yay! Free knowledge!

[@drip369]

How doesn't Dr Mike have 500k subs ? Great great content, always.

[@davidkymdell452]

Cos there's no BS...the algorithm rewards BS

[@karlovisttimes8271]

now more than a million :D

[@RedPanda79]

Hot damn #1 hurts. I actually did switch programs because I had no PRs. That high you get from one is so sweet

[@rafaelnacha1788]

this guy is funny and informative, he is full of knowledge with sense of humor

[@thunderkat5282]

For me it was listening to RIR recommendations and not going to failure as well as too much frequency.

[@KingOfWinter]

Question: Will having a better mind muscle connection cause you to be sore more than usual? Im 34 and have been working out off and on since I was 18 (I was consistent the first 7 years then took a 4 year break where I would work out every now and then but have started working out consistently again the last 5 years). I’ve followed every plan there is (5x5, 7x7, 8x8, German volume, Arnold’s workout, Dorian Yates workout, strongman, powerlifting, etc) so I’ve had high volume/low volume and everything Inbetween. But over the last year or two I personally feel like I’ve gotten better mind muscle connection then ever before but my workouts, that wouldn’t even phase me in my younger days, have left me so sore it’s crazy sometimes for days. I use to consider getting sore a sign of a very good workout back when I would only get sore every now and then but now it feels like I’m either doing something extremely well or extremely bad or maybe I’m just getting old lol.

[@lynnwilliam]

I was in the chest fire this morning and wow. I'm still hurts. I love it