I've coached hundreds of people through their first months of lifting. The same mistakes come up every single time.

1. Going too heavy too fast

Your nervous system needs to learn the movement patterns before you load them up. Start lighter than your ego wants. Progress will come faster because of it.

2. Skipping the warm-up

5 minutes of movement prep prevents months of injury recovery. Non-negotiable.

3. No structure

Walking into the gym without a plan = wasted time. A basic push/pull/legs split beats random exercises every day of the week.

4. Ignoring recovery

You don't grow in the gym — you grow while you rest. Sleep 7-8 hours. Eat enough protein (0.8g per lb of bodyweight). Stretch.

5. Comparing yourself to people who've been lifting for years

Everyone started somewhere. Focus on YOUR progress. Film your lifts, track your numbers, and compare yourself to last month's version of you.

If you're a beginner and want structured coaching to avoid all of this, check out what we're building at Iron Protocol.