🏋️ 12 muscle-building mistakes killing your gains

Michael Keaton is back as Batman, Harrison Ford is back as Indiana Jones, and the BarBend Newsletter is back as the best three-minute fitness read in your inbox.

Here’s what we’re talking about today:

• Common muscle-building mistakes that are killing your gains.

• Nine wrist curl variations for better grip strength.

• The 13 best carbs to add to your meal prep plans.

Tips

Get Your Gains Back

Imagine the horror: You go to the gym day in, day out, for months at a time. You followed your workout protocol to a tee. You even went out and bought a $150 pair of gym shoes because the box said they were designed for athletes. But you look in the mirror after all that hard work and … no change.

If you’re hitting the gym in the hopes of adding muscle mass but still not seeing results, it might be time to reevaluate things. You see, you could be making mistakes that are slowing your progress without even knowing it. Maybe your nutrition isn’t quite on point; maybe you just haven’t been taking your rest days seriously enough.

The good news is that most (if not all) are easily fixable — you just need to identify the issue first. See if you’re making any of these 12 common muscle-building mistakes in the article below:

Exercises

It’s All in the Wrist

Your wrists are in play during nearly every exercise you perform, assisting with stabilizing either the weight or your body, and helping to hold things together. Your wrists are also paradoxical; elite weightlifters have the wrist strength to send impossibly heavy weights soaring overhead, but left untrained, and your wrists will crumble, sending all that weight crashing back down to Earth.

The moral of the story is that your wrist strength is a vital component of proper weight training. Not only that, but general wrist strength has proven to be an excellent predictor of overall health and vitality. If you’re looking to beef up this oft-overlooked body part, we’ve got nine wrist curl variations that’ll raise your game.

Nutrition

The Right Carbs

Is there any nutrition-related discourse more confusing than people’s opinions on carbs? One day, they’re essential to your fitness goals and something you should pile on your plate. The next day, you read an article telling you to ditch every pack of rice and loaf of bread in your home and never look back.

The truth is, carbs are an energy source and one of the three macronutrients your body needs (the other two are protein and fat). There are two main types of carbohydrates: simple carbs and complex carbs. Simple carbs are not unhealthy, but complex carbs may pack more health benefits.

Want us to distill things even further? We’re glad you asked because we’ve got a rundown of the 13 healthiest carbs that should be regulars in your meal-prep plans.

The BarBend Business Brief, in Partnership with Wodify, brings you expert advice from Wodify’s Retention Intelligence Team and top fitness business owners every Monday.

Today’s advice: Outsource your programming…or at least part of it.

Based on their research, Wodify found that, on average, gym owners can save up to 15 hours (two whole business days) by outsourcing programming.

With Wodify Workout Marketplace, you can easily get world-class workouts from programmers like Mayhem Affiliate, CrossFit Affiliate Programming, and NCFIT.

Book a demo to find out more!

Everything Else

Elevate Your Squat

• If you really want to give your leg development an extra kick, you’ve gotta learn how to do the front-foot elevated split squat. (Try saying that three times fast.)

• To make a career out of training athletes, a sports nutrition certification can help you stand out from a crowded field. Here are the best ones you can pursue.

• Need a little Monday motivation? Watch weightlifter Angie Dajomes (71KG) set a new snatch world record.

Sound Off!

What Do You Neglect?

The Results Are In

Do You Run (Apparently Not!)

In the June 12, 2023 edition of The BarBend Newsletter, we asked how often you run as cardio. Here’s how you voted:

1. Never (44.44%)

2. 2-4 times per week (26.67%)

3. Once a week (17.04%)

4. 5-6 times per week (7.4%)

5. Every day (4.45%)