Ginger: Okay, so, regardless of having type 1 diabetes, what are some of the most common mistakesin the gym people make when they’re trying to lose weight, put on muscle, or training to compete in bodybuilding/figure?

Andrew: Great question. I actually put a blog post 5 Mistakes I see in the Gym Regularly about this topic up a few months but I would say the number one thing I see is people just not knowing how to train. I’ll give you two quick scenarios:

Scenario A: Picture a typical middle-aged woman who carries a little extra body fat, does what I call the “soccer mom” workout (grabs 8-10 pound dumbbells and does every movement she can think of with them to feel like she got “weight training” in. The she gets on the treadmill and runs for 45 minutes. Now, if you talk to her, she will say that her goal is to lose that last 15 pounds of baby weight. But after two years of the same thing over and over again she’s frustrated and hasn’t lost any weight.

Scenario B: This could be one of the many guys in their 20’-50’s that I see typically after 5 p.m. most days in the gym. They have the same routine, in the same order pretty much every week. Their goal is to put on muscle, get lean and gain strength, yet every workout is like a choreographed routine. Chest on Monday starting with bench press, then incline dumbbell press, then flies etc. Legs…maybe next week. They constantly try the flashiest, newest pre-workout supplement conned into thinking it’s giving them better results for a little while. Two years later, they still look exactly the same and their strength and muscle-mass hasn’t budged.

There are many ways to waste your time in the gym with a very illogical and ineffective workout that isn’t based on the physiology of how your body loses fat or gains muscle.