home > exercise tips > workout mistakes
Workout Mistakes
Walk into most gyms on any given day and you'll find a
lot of well-intentioned and hard-working individuals that
are frustrated with their progress. Why? The following
mistakes are often to blame.
mistake: Not prioritizing
Do you have a lagging muscle group or area of your
body you'd like to improve most? If you do, then most
likely you are basing the majority of your progress off of
this area. But are you really focusing your workouts on
this area? If one of your bodyparts needs extra help,
the answer lies in prioritizing. How do you prioritize?
The solution isn't always to train the bodypart more
frequently, although this is a common approach. You
may want to train this area at the beginning of your
workout or early in the week when you have the most
energy and motivation. Calves are a common example,
as are abs. If you are trying to improve these areas,
don't train them as an afterthought at the end of your
workout. Instead, train them in the beginning or as a
separate workout.
mistake: Training too long
Your progress is not determined by the amount of time you spend in the gym. For your program to be successful in the
long run, you want it to be efficient and effective. How? Keep your workouts brief and intense. Chat with others
in the gym less. Stay focused. Plan your workouts out ahead of time. Click here for more ideas.
mistake: Not eating often enough
To get maximum results from the time you spend exercising, you should feed your body frequently with 4-6 small meals
per day.
mistake: Thinking you don't need exercise because you're thin
Even if you are not worried about weight control, there are plenty of reasons to exercise. Heart disease, prevented
with exercise, is the number one killer of women in the U.S., and less active people have a 40 percent greater risk of
developing high-blood pressure, even if they're slim. Exercise also cuts your risk of many forms of cancer and
osteoporosis (a particular threat to thin women). Did I mention that you'll have more energy and sleep better too?
mistake: Rushing through an exercise
Are your reps fast and jerky? Take a moment to really focus on the contraction that your muscle(s) are making. Also
use a weight that allows you to execute the rep under full control.
mistake: Not keeping a journal
One of the most important things you can do to ensure your success is to keep a record of how you're training and
eating. If something's not working, you can go back and look at vital information useful for troubleshooting your
program. Also, it is very motivating to look back on your progress!
mistake: Working out too often
A hard workout tears down muscle tissue. Between workouts, your muscles and nervous system recover. If you put your
body through additional workouts before it is fully recovered, you are short-circuiting any results from your
workouts.
mistake: Too complicated, too soon
Being enthusiastic is great, but it can sometimes lead to ineffective training, especially for beginners. Focus on the
basic exercises for several months before considering any isolation or advanced exercises, such as cable movements.
|
