Biggest Gym Mistakes to Avoid

Starting your fitness journey is one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical health.

You will experience many benefits like increased energy and more focus to take part in many life activities.

Understanding your goals in fitness and creating a workout plan to achieve them is great, but you need to be very careful when exercising.

Not exercising the right way can slow down your results in the gym; you can even put yourself at risk of injury!

Here are the biggest gym mistakes that are commonly made and how to avoid them!

#1. Incorrect Form

Using proper form when performing specific exercises like lifting weights, running, or even yoga is crucial.

Incorrect form can put you at risk for injury and especially slow down your progress.

To avoid this mistake, record yourself demonstrating an exercise and reviewing your form.

This can ensure you are performing the exercise the right way!

#2. Overtraining

Overtraining happens when you exceed your body’s capability to recover from intense exercise.

This can cause fatigue, a decline in physical performance, and a high risk of injuries.

Avoiding this mistake can be as simple as listening to your own body.

Listening to your body means that you should take some time off and recover when your body is sore or fatigued!

#3. Not Warming up Beforehand

Before you start your first intense exercise in your routine, you need to warm up your muscles before doing so.

Warming up allows your body to get into the zone so that your muscles don’t fatigue earlier than expected.

To avoid this mistake, perform dynamic stretches instead of static stretches to warm up your muscles before hard exercise.

Make sure to cool down after workouts too!

#4. Forgetting to Stretch

In the long run, stretching can increase performance in the gym, mobility, and energy levels.

Not stretching after your workouts or in general causes more stress on your body, which can affect your mood and performance

To bypass this mistake, take as little as 5 minutes to perform a stretch routine and hold each stretch for about 30 seconds

#5. Performing Same Routine

Performing the same workout routine for several weeks or months can lead to burnout physically and mentally.

Having a variety of workout routines can lead to an increase in performance and dedication!

Avoiding performing the same routine is as simple as switching it up every 4–6 weeks or so.

You can either change at least one exercise in your workout plan or even change up the entire plan.

#6. Not Having a Clear Routine

Not having a clear workout plan and just winging it in the gym whenever you feel like it is not effective for making progress.

Writing down a routine that is easy to read helps you know what exercises you will be doing that day, which in the long run, can help you reach your goals.

It also encourages you to perform the exercises you don't enjoy doing given that they are already on your plan.

Conclusion

Beginning your fitness journey is exciting, but you still need to pay in mind to avoid these mistakes.

Bypassing these top mistakes will make you achieve your results from the gym in no time!

If you are stuck on how to approach similar mistakes, the internet is a great tool for solutions!

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This article was officially published on Medium