Each day, countless new people set foot in a gym for the very first time. Initially, the gym can seem like an intimidating place, especially if you don’t have a trainer to help you out.
It’s not surprising then that a lot of people make mistakes when they’re new to the gym. In fact, even people who have been working out regularly can fall prey to a number of bad training techniques. These are dangerous as they hamper your results, demotivate you, and can even lead to some serious injury due to no proper guidance.
Below we’ve some of the most common workout mistakes and how you should avoid them.
Lifting Envy.
We’ve all been in this situation before. We’re about to perform a traditional strength exercise, and someone bigger and more experienced than us has just lifted a heavyweight. We know deep down that we aren’t ready to lift yet but try anyway. This is quite a common problem even for more experienced lifters. Not only is it dangerous as you could strain your muscles and lead to a severe injury but it could also derail your progress.
Not Warming Up.
Whether you’re lifting light weights or just doing cardio, a warm-up is essential to ensure you don’t hurt yourself. A proper warm-up sends blood to the muscles you’re looking at targeting. This allows them to be more flexible and prepares them for the stresses of a heavy workout. A quick five-minute warm-up is more than adequate. You should also perform one or two warmup sets with little to no weight before getting into your working sets.
Not Pushing Yourself.
The reason weights stimulate growth in muscles is because they put your body under a lot of stress. Muscles are essentially torn apart, and when supplied with enough protein, your body fuses muscles strands together. This is what makes them stronger and more durable than before. To do that, you have to put your muscles under enough stress. There are plenty of people that don’t push themselves enough and end up disappointed with the rewards. Ideally, every workout should lead to progress. Even if that progress is a slight weight increase or a slightly longer duration.
Over Working.
Some people can go to the other extreme of pushing themselves too hard. Unless you’re a professional athlete or are training for a competition, there’s no need to train for a few hours every day. For most people, working out four to five days a week for up to an hour will ensure you’re on track to achieving your goals.
Setting Unrealistic Goals.
Perhaps the biggest and most common mistake that people make is setting goals that are too lofty to be reached in a short span of time. Building a good body and getting fitter takes time and dedication combined with consistency. While they set unrealistic expectations, disappointment follows when they do not follow a schedule.
We are motivated by a number of reasons to workout. While our interests may differ, we all have a single focus, to improve ourselves with each passing day. Make sure to avoid these common workout mistakes and you will be sure to reach your goal.