Ingrid and Ilona Setting goals is great, but if you don’t follow them, you’re simply setting yourself up for failure. A common mistake is to set ambitious goals and then start moving too quickly. The evidence is clear-those who gradually increase their physical activity over time are more successful at losing and maintaining their weight. Others may set a goal to walk or run 5,000 steps, but that goal is way too high for someone who is just starting. Instead, start small, and work your way up. Your body and mind will thank you.
Whether you’re new to working out or you’ve been at it for years, you are bound to make mistakes from time to time. Whether skipping the gym, working out on the wrong days, or forgetting your gym bag, these fitness mistakes will slow you down and waste your time.
Here are the fitness mistakes that could sabotage your workout:
You have a meal right before the workout
When working out, the last thing you want to do before your workout is eating. Eating before your workout not only affects your workout but also your caloric intake for the rest of the day. The last thing you want to do is throw your workout off.
You don’t warm-up
You’ve invested in a gym membership, bought some new workout clothes, perhaps even checked out a site like Mobile Mob to get yourself some new bands for your smart watch that you’re going to use to track your workouts, and have a new exercise regime ready to go. But have you considered warming up your body before hitting the gym? If you haven’t, you’re probably making one of the common mistakes that impact your body and workout.
You don’t have good posture
Poor posture or how you carry yourself can affect your physical health. It can affect things like your breathing and circulation. It can also impact your alignment, spinal health, digestive health, energy levels, and more. Shoulder workouts can play a crucial role in improving posture by strengthening the muscles around the shoulders, upper back, and core. By incorporating shoulder cable workouts into your fitness routine, you can enhance your posture and alleviate the strain on your body caused by slouching or hunching. When you lack good posture, this can make it harder to move efficiently, which can lead to more aches and pains, which can impact your performance.
You stray from your plan
A workout plan is one of the smartest things you can do for yourself if you are trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. The idea of a regimented exercise program is to make it as easy as possible for you to stick to. However, it’s really easy to stray from your plan if you aren’t disciplined enough. If you stop exercising, it becomes much harder to get back into the swing of things, which could even lead to skipping workouts completely.
You go heavy all the time
Many exercises make you lift heavy weights, which might not be the best way to lose weight. Lifting heavy weights a few days a week is a great way to build your strength, but it can also strain your joints and leave you sore and exhausted. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you’re consuming, and lifting heavy weights is a great way to burn more calories. However, lifting heavy weights all the time is not the best way to build lean muscle and strength. Your muscles can only grow so big, and lifting heavy weights all the time won’t help you achieve your fitness goals once you reach that point.
Fitness mistakes are inevitable. But knowing which fitness mistakes are avoidable is key to preventing injury. The biggest mistake people make is not warming up before a workout. One of the most prevalent injuries is pulled muscles. When you work out, your muscles undergo repetitive damage. Warming up helps muscles prepare to endure those stresses. If you don’t warm up, your muscles have to work harder and take longer to recover, which limits your strength and endurance.
