Common Exercise Mistakes

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Avoid these common exercise mistakes and start getting some real fitness results

Did you know that the average fitness group/club exerciser quits after just six months for one of these reasons?

• Not Enough Time
• Not Seeing Results

Sadly, most individuals become frustrated and stop working out before they see any real results. Nonetheless it's not very surprising, given the common mistakes many individuals make with their exercise programmes. Do you make these exercises mistakes?

The Whys and Wherefores Your Workouts Don't Work

 

All Quantity, No Quality

If you been working out in the gym (if you haven't quit going yet), you may have noticed how many people who are really getting a quality workout.  Some people wander aimlessly, leisurely walking on the treadmill while reading a book, lightly lifting weights that not one strand of hair moves out of place, or simply look uninterested. Some exercisers just to the gym out of habit, as if they are programed, put in some time and go to work or back home. If you are one of these individuals, my question for you is "What do you want to achieve out of this?" If you want achieve serious results, you have to do serious workout. This does not suggest you can't enjoy your workout and have fun while at it. But it also means you have to concentrate on the exercise and increase the quality of each movement. When you start exercising with real aim, and exerting both your aerobic capacity and your strength with vigour, you will see that your workouts take half the time and produce better results. 

see:

Are You Exercising Hard Enough? 
5 Fat-Burning HIIT Workouts for Any Fitness Level 
How to Burn the Most Calories With Every Workout 
How to lose 4 pounds a week 

Overestimating Workout 

Some exercisers are way too generous with estimating workout intensity and duration, amount of weight lifted, and the frequency of their workouts. To circumvent miscalculating, it is helpful to journal your workouts and track these items using an exercise mobile device or a mobile app. In addition, many people mistakenly assume that if they exercise at a moderate pace for 30 minutes, they have burned a whole lot of fat and calories. Unfortunately, it is not that so easy. Though exercise does burn calories over time, and constant exercise is one of the best means to lose weight, maintain weight and keep it off, it is difficult to lose body fat through exercise alone and which is explained further in the next mistake. 

 

Underestimating Food Consumption 

Many individuals are in denial about the food they consume, and especially, the quantity eaten. If you certainly want to lose weight, you have to be honest with yourself about what goes into your mouth and how it makes or mars your weight loss goals. To be honest with yourself, write them down in a book journal or a mobile app like my MyFitnessPal. Tracking what you eat will help you break stop the cycle of food denial.

 

Doing the Wrong Type of Exercises  

The type exercise you are doing directly determines the result you will get. To know what you should do, you are in better position by starting to write down your goals and then working with a pro fitness trainer to design the right exercises to achieve those goals. A misfit workout will produce haphazard results. 

See:

Your workout options
Finding the Right Exercise for You 

 

Not Changing Workout  

When you continue to perform the same thing day in day out, you will become very good at it. In exercise, it is called the principle of adaptation. It simply means that one become very proficient by performing the same exercise over and over. This is best for sports performance, but not best for weight loss, physical fitness development, or increasing strength. If you do the same workout all the time for the same amount of time, you will in over time, encounter a plateau where you fail to see any further change. One way of disabling exercise plateau is to change your workouts every few weeks or months. You can change the kind of exercise you do, the amount of weight lifted, the length, or numbers of repeat or reps.  

see:

Getting past a weight-loss plateau 

break through weight-loss plateau 

 

Using Inappropriate Procedure or Technique

  

Learning the correct way to exercise is crucial to getting results. Method does matter, particularly when performing any strength training workout. Inappropriate procedure or technique also puts you up for potential ache, pain and injuries. To learn proper method, there's no other way to start than with personal trainer at your gym or personal coach.

 

Putting Up Unrealistic Goals

If your goal is to be the next Flo-Jo (Florence Joyner) or Usain Bolt, and you just have 30 minutes to train in a day, or you want to lose 10 kg in a month . . . how realistic is that? Again, it boils down to being truthful to yourself about your capabilities, level of commitment, and lifestyle. I am all for attainable goal, neither do I advise you to keep your expectations low, but making BIG, unrealistic goals is just putting yourself up for failure. Set short-term targets that you are confident you can achieve. Goals are best way to keep you motivated. Try setting small, achievable goals and working UP from there. For instance: work out for at least 30 minutes, three times a week then the  next week add 10 minutes or add an extra day. You need to set apt goals that start from where you are (now) and advance at a reasonable rate, or you will get frustrated and quit. 

See:
Fitness Goal Setting - Where To Start 
Personal Goal Setting: Creating Challenging Yet Achievable
How to Set SMART Fitness Goals

Measuring The Incorrect Results

Several individuals assume their workout is not working because they don't measure the correct stuffs. Looking for evidence in a scale is often a situation for disappointment, because a number of new exercisers develop muscle and lose fat, but the scale doesn't show information about body composition.  So many times we focus on that one number on the scale. We don't take note to the subtle changes that are occurring to our bodies: Our stomachs getting flatter, waists becoming narrow, hips getting smaller and arms toning. Do not be preoccupied with the scale. Yes, the digit is a reflection of the hard work you have been doing on your body, but it's necessary to also take into consideration to measure your fitness progress such as monitoring your heart rate at a particular pace, tracking the amount of weight you can lift, or even noting down how you look and feel. Do your clothes fit you better? Have you built your exercise endurance?  Do you have more energy? These are significant effects too. Several of the benefits from exercise are subtle and not noticeable by looking in the mirror, but things like blood pressure, cholesterol level, and the ease at which you can do daily house chores are every bit as motivating  -- if you monitor them.