Are you tired of trying to hit the gym and still not gaining any progress? Don’t worry – we’re here to help! You might be making any of the most common workout mistakes we will mention below, but that’s okay!
No one is perfect at first – beginners and even seasoned gym-goers alike. That’s why you’ll want to find out first what you are doing wrong so that you can correct it and make better progress later on. In this way, your time at the gym will be worth it!
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What are some common workout mistakes?
Here are some of the most common mistakes you might be making during your workouts:
No specific workout plan
Does it cross your mind that you just might not be working out with a specific plan in mind? If you have no workout plan then you might not know which muscles need more attention and which are all good. It’s the same analogy as when you eat too much of certain food and don’t prepare varieties.
Ask yourself: what do you want to achieve with your gym sessions? Do you want to lose weight, build muscle, or improve your strength? Or, do you just want to stay healthy and that’s why you’re working out? All of these questions have different answers per person.
It helps to prepare a list of exercises that you should do so that you will be focused on getting five reps of a specific muscle group target. For instance, you are supposed to do your arms today but you end up getting lazy and lost so you lost count – all because you don’t have it written explicitly.
Your list of exercises should be listed one by one, as well as how many reps you need to do to achieve that. In this way, you will become more guided. Following a plan is a common beginner’s mistake and that’s okay if you didn’t realize it at first – just make sure to write a plan next time.
Poor form
Not focusing on a form is another common beginner’s mistake, especially with building muscle. If you notice that you work out at the gym as hard as you can and you don’t see gains, it could be that your form is wrong.
What you do to get the proper form is not focus on the weights or the exercise equipment but your muscles instead. For instance, if you lift weights, focus on your arms rather than what you are carrying. In this way, you get a more solid connection between your mind and your muscles.
Limiting yourself
If you don’t see any progress for yourself, you could be limiting your capacity on what you can do. Don’t be afraid to go beyond your comfort zone! Try additional reps once you find that your exercises become easy, which will be helpful for you to get to the next level and build your muscle.
This goes the same for achieving any fitness goal. Whether you want to lose weight, get gains, or improve your strength, simply sticking to the same level over and over again will only bore you and will eventually make you feel unmotivated with going to the gym (or working out in general).
Spice up your workouts by adding a new challenge every single day (or week) so that you won’t get tired of the same routine. Gradually add the new goals so that you don’t tire yourself, but make sure that you don’t stop in just one place!
Why not try a higher level of workout? Workout becomes effective only when you employ progressive overload, which, in layman’s terms, is putting stress on your muscles to develop them. If you don’t get much more difficult workouts then your muscles won’t get any stress and thus, you won’t get gains.
It will be hard at first if you try to step up your game. For instance, lifting a heavier dumbbell might feel uncomfortable for the first week. However, if you keep doing it, you will eventually feel as if your weights are getting lighter and lighter because your muscles are becoming attuned to it.
Lack of sleep
Not getting enough rest will only slow you down. Always remember that your sleep is an important part of getting in shape. While good food and a solid exercise routine will help you a lot, without proper sleep, you won’t give a chance for your body to rest and recover.
Muscle recovery is very vital if you want to get gains. In the same way, sleep also allows the body to lessen the amount of cortisol released. Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is directly involved with fat storage.
That’s why you want to sleep better so that you don’t end up with this hormone causing your workout to slowly lose its efficiency. At least 6 hours of sleep is recommended if you don’t have a lot of time in your hands or if you’re juggling life duties, work, and working out.
Wrong diet
Choosing the wrong diet could make your workouts ineffective. Protein is very important for exercise, especially for building muscles. The same is true with healthy carbohydrates for energy, as well as a balance of nutrients. Don’t just eat one kind of food all the time!
Diet is a vital part of a successful workout. You have to choose carefully what you will eat so that your muscle builds and fat burns will be more effective when you hit the gym. Most trainers can give you advice on the right diet based on your workout plan.
Conclusion
Realizing what’s wrong with your workout doesn’t mean that you’re a failure – there is no success without setbacks. We learn from our mistakes and that’s what makes us better humans in the future. Our mistakes help us improve what we lack.
The next time you hit the gym, why not try to consider the above-mentioned common workout mistakes? Take your time into incorporating them and get help from an expert, whether it’s a gym buff friend or colleague, a personal trainer, or the gym instructor – be open to suggestions!
