The increase in bodybuilding popularity has seen a flux of teens hit the gym with grandeur visions of becoming their favorite bodybuilding idol. However, because being a teen is so stressful with going to school, homework, starting to drive, dating and parties, all while holding down a job, you can easily form a lot of bad habits when weight training.

Go through the following list of some common mistakes made by young bodybuilders and see if you have fallen prey to any of them. Then heed the accompanying advice to put yourself back on track to a prosperous bodybuilding path that gets results.

Teenage Workout Error #1 – Bad or No Structure in Training

Hitting the gym without a workout program can cause a lot of problems. Usually, major “visible” muscle groups are targeted, like the chest and arms, which leads to underdevelopment of other muscle groups and overtraining of the ones being worked too often. Such a helter-skelter approach to bodybuilding will leave your physique unbalanced and can lead to the breakdown of overworked muscles, injury and illness. Get with a seasoned bodybuilder or trainer for assistance with putting together a well-balanced weight training program. This will provide the benefits of forming good weightlifting habits as well as give you better results.

Teenage Workout Error #2 – Practicing Bad Form

Normally when you hit the gym, you have no idea about proper weightlifting form. You just grab some free weights or jump on a weight machine and take off. However, improper weight training techniques not only produce undesirable results, but also can lead to serious injury that can take a lot of time to overcome or knock you out of weightlifting altogether. Again, get with a seasoned lifter or trainer and have them show you the proper techniques for each exercise. Good weightlifting form will build muscle mass, reduce body fat and save a lot of wear and tear on your muscles, bones, joints and tendons.

Teenage Workout Error #3 – Inconsistency

Being a teen can be gruelingly busy and workouts are often sacrificed for other more “important” activities. However, in order to make progress as a bodybuilder, you have to be consistent in several areas. If you don’t give focused attention to your training program, recovery time and nutritional diet, you will see your muscle gain results suffer. If you want to pursue bodybuilding then you need to make sure you train on schedule, get sufficient rest and eat right. Create a workout schedule and plan all other activities around it. You should also create a nutritional diet plan that ensures you get the vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients your body needs to develop properly.

Teenage Workout Error #4 – Unhealthy Diet

A teen’s life can be crazy and meals are generally grabbed and eaten while on the go. Not only that, but you probably either don’t often have an appetite or, just the opposite, grab and gorge on anything you can find. The problem is that most teens don’t eat a nutritional diet, but fill themselves with junk food, fast food and other unhealthy items void of much nutritional value. The old saying “you are what you eat” rings true and if you don’t eat healthy then you won’t have the energy or get the results you want in the gym. Although teen life is too busy to count calories, you can read up on proper nutrition and create a more balanced diet consisting of healthy foods. It’s OK to have an occasional fast food meal, candy bar, or chips and coke, just don’t make it a habit. Reach for an apple, Greek yogurt, bag of baby carrots, or other nutritious snack when you’re feeling the urge to splurge.

Teenage Workout Error #5 – Insufficient Sleep

As a teen, you like to go, go, go! It’s a time of life where new experiences are awaiting at every turn and you don’t want to miss a single one of them. There are girls to meet, parties to crash, school events to attend, new movies to see and a host of other things that can easily keep you out late at night and get you up early in the morning. However, sleep is the time your body uses to repair the damage done by weight training and build stronger bones and muscles. Your growth hormones and testosterone (a major contributor to muscle growth) are released and at their highest levels during periods of sleep. Therefore, in order to keep your body growing in bone and muscle mass and to rejuvenate your mental and physical energy, you need to get plenty of sleep. If you happen to stay out late for some reason, be sure to catch up on sleep the next day by going to bed early or taking a refreshing nap. And keep your partying to a minimum!

Teenage Workout Error #6 – Supplement Overuse

I know. I know. The future can never get here fast enough. When it comes to weightlifting, many teens find themselves resorting to a variety of supplements to hasten the muscle gain process. Teens are also much more impressionable when it comes to being lured to products based on bulging muscle photos, pretty model advertisers and promises of grand results. Some teens even fall into the shady and dangerous pit of illegal supplements that can have devastating results down the road. Don’t get me wrong, supplements play an important part in bodybuilding and can help you hasten results. When your body undergoes high intensity exercises, it requires a great deal of nutrients which aren’t easily obtained through regular foods (although a nutritional diet should definitely come before supplementation). Take a high quality whey protein supplement when first starting to train. After you’ve been in a weight training program for awhile and have had time to learn about the advantages of other supplements then you can stack more to achieve better results.

Summary

If you want to be a teenage bodybuilder that gets results, make it a focus of your life. Plan events around your workouts, get help creating a good weight training program and nutritional diet, use proper technique, don’t overuse supplements, get plenty of sleep and be consistent with your fitness! Before long, you’ll have the girls swooning over you and your ripped, muscular form.