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Greg Doucette Makes Startling Claim About the Average Gym Goer Not Training Hard Enough

Published 04/22/2024, 4:57 AM EDT

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The IFBB Pro Coach Greg Doucette never backs down from sharing his valuable insights and calling out those who are doing things wrong in the gym. This time he called out people who go to the gym to “Just go through the motion.” He made bold claims this time about netizens going to the gym, trying to train hard, and often having bad form while performing exercises. 

The 48-year-old IFBB Pro Coach recently uploaded a video on his YouTube channel and made a claim, saying, “I’m saying probably half the people in the gym are just going through the motions. Trust me, I look at people in the gym. I watch them lift bodybuilders. People who are really serious. You know, it’s not you; it’s the average person.” 

Doucette added that the average person goes to the gym thinking, “I want to put on, you know, 20 lbs of muscle lose 20 lbs of fat this year; it’s my first year training, and that’s what I expect; they’re going to the gym; they’re training half faster or going through the motions; they never even look like they’re working hard.” The 48-year-old coach stressed the fact that if you’re not a complete beginner, you should train close to failure. 

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The IFBB Pro Coach highlighted how one may know he’s close to failure while training. “The best way to know you have failed is try doing another rep and if you can’t get it, you failed. If you can get it, you might have been able to get one more. You don’t actually know if you have hit failure unless you have tried.”

Doucette debunked a myth and explained, “Many people have heard you don’t need to train that hard. Three IRs, three reps in reserve, that’s plenty. If you train too hard, you’re not going to make the gains because, well, you’re natural. This is BS. You can train harder than that.” Training until the brink of failure does not kill one’s gains but helps in gaining  muscles. 

The 48-year-old highlighted that many people underestimate themselves while doing reps. They might think they have the strength left for two or three reps. But the reality is the complete opposite; they could do five or even six more reps. They just need to push themselves to their limits to witness improvements and to get satisfactory results.

Doucette urged everyone to make their upcoming workout better than the previous one. The IFBB Pro coach said, “I’ve been saying this for years. Look at your workout the last week, the last time you went to the gym, and can you in fact do more? Can you, in fact, get one extra rep? Can you lift one extra pound? He continued, ” Can you slow down the Eccentric? Can you do a forced rep or a paused rep? Try to add something in order to make the workout harder than last time.” Apart from training until the brink of failure, he also emphasized the importance of the right form while exercising. 

The IFBB Pro Coach shared the perfect range of reps for a set

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If you go to the gym and do squats but you only go a quarter of the way, then you’re cheating, and that’s a half rep according to the IFBB Pro. He also gave an example of seated cable rows and said, “You’re swinging; it looks like you’re rowing a boat and going absolutely nowhere, or you’re simply not engaging the muscle that you’re supposed to.” He gave a piece of advice on how to correct the form.

The 48-year-old coach suggested watching YouTube videos to see the correct form of the exercise and learn how to do it. He specifically mentioned watching a person who exercises effectively. Then deeply analyze their technique, try to copy each movement, and implement it in the set. 

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The 48-year-old emphasized the need to say no to ego lifting strictly. He mentioned that this is one of the reasons that will lead you to bad form, and you’ll end up getting severely injured.  

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The IFBB Pro mentioned that by improving your technique, you’ll be able to hit your muscles more effectively. He suggests doing 8 to 15 reps in each set. Doucette explained, “Of course, you can still build muscle by lifting heavier weights and or lighter but if you stick to 8 to 15 repetitions for the most part, for most people, that’s the easiest way to build muscle.”

After learning the importance of form and training until failure from the 48-year-old  IFBB Pro Coach, will you add these two practices to your training regime? Let us know in the comments. 

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Written by:

Karan Yadav

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Karan Yadav is a Bodybuilding writer at EssentiallySports. His journey to the bodybuilding realm started during the lockdown, where he found inspiration and dedication from those engaged in the sport. A stickler for fitness tips, Karan keenly follows his idols Chris Bumstead and Mike O’Hearn for covering the information they give out through their social media.
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Edited by:

Arijit Saha