Are You Guilty of These Workout Mistakes?

Getting fit, and subsequently staying fit requires a tremendous amount of hard work. Unfortunately, even after hours of workouts, many of us end up making some mistakes along the way. These mistakes lower your productivity at the gym and may even sabotage your progress.

We have listed down some of the most common workout mistakes people make. Have a look to find out if you are you making any of them:

1.      Not Tracking Your Workout

When you keep a track of your workout, you can measure your progress and stay motivated. If you did 10 push-ups today, then aim for 15 tomorrow. To make tracking more efficient, you can maintain a workout log and make notes every day. You can also consider buying a fitness tracker if maintaining a log seems like too much work.

2.      Doing Only Cardio

Sure, cardio is great for burning calories. But, in the process, it also burns muscle mass. If your goal is to stay healthy and look good, then adding strength training to your routine is a must. You need to maintain a balance between cardio and strength training to get effective results. Unless you’re training for endurance, 25 to 45 minutes of cardio 2-3 times a week is enough.

3.      Not Warming Up, Stretching or Cooling Down

Warm-up, stretching, and cooldown is crucial for everyone, regardless of the workout they do. By spending some time doing these three activities, you can enhance your performance, prevent injuries, and boost your recovery. When you avoid them, you risk facing an injury which may mean missing days, and sometimes weeks of workout.

4.      Never Changing Your Workout

Many people repeat the same workout day in and day out. Routine is a good thing but adding variety to your workout will yield much better results. When you change your workout, your body has to adapt. This makes the workout more challenging, fun, and effective. Moreover, the muscle groups being activated also change with a different exercise, preventing injury. But, make sure that you don’t change workouts more than once a month.

5.      Ignoring Diet

When you’re exercising, your body utilizes nutrients to provide energy for the exertion. If you don’t consume the right nutrients, you will invariably collapse or cause health problems. For example, if you are trying to build your muscles, your body will need extra protein. Without a proper diet to back up your workout, results are bound to be abysmal.

6.      Ignoring Form

Good form is the crux of effective workouts. When you ignore form, you lower the efficiency of your workout and risk getting injured. To avoid bad form, consider working out in front of a mirror and observe your posture.

7.      Not Getting Enough Rest

The funny thing about the human body is that it’s not getting stronger and fitter while working out but during the recovery period. Some people think that the more they workout, the better the results. This leads to overtraining and injury. Allot at least one day per week for rest. This will make your workouts better and increase your body’s endurance.

So, avoid these workout mistakes at all costs and work out better.