Valentin Bosioc
In a modern urban environment, where an average person spends 8 hours a day behind their office desk, only to replace it with a living room sofa once they get home, hitting a gym seems more like a necessity than anything else. Still, a lot of people put too little thought into this whole issue, thus underestimating this huge aspect of their lives. This creates a situation in which they make mistakes which cause them to stagnate, not advance at a pace at which they should or even increase the risk of injury. Luckily, most of these mistakes are easily avoidable and here’s how.
READ: Fitness Routine: 7 Mistakes Working Women Should Avoid
Choose the Right Workout Program
The first thing you need to keep in mind is that composing a workout program tends to be more math than anything else. Underusing weights and overusing cardio can both reduce the pace at which you gain muscle mass. Furthermore, consuming too few calories for an intense training regimen can give you the same effect. This is why, you need to find a proper program and combine it with an adequate diet, long before you actually hit the gym.
Warm up Properly
Failure to properly warm up is probably the single greatest cause of most gym-related injuries. The funniest thing here is just how easy it is to properly warm up, seeing how it seldom takes more than a few minutes. You need to start with some basic mobility movements, get your heart pumping with some cardio and perhaps even start your training with a bit slower intensity. In this way, you will prepare your body for the stress it is about to endure and set your mind in the right mood for this action.
Equip Yourself With the Right Outfit
Another mistake that a lot of people make is going to gym under equipped. Wearing baggy clothes increases the risk of injury, seeing how you never know when some loose end might get stuck in a machine. Additionally, the lack of training gloves, weightlifting shoes or even weightlifting belt might result in some of the most difficult injuries. Finally, you need some basic medical supplies in your training bag just in case. For these, however, you don’t have to go to a fitness shop. You can obtain these at any pharmacy or even purchase them online, through platforms such as Yak Portal or any other similar website that is used for finding useful products and services.
SEE ALSO: 5 WORKOUT MISTAKES BEGINNERS SHOULD AVOID
Do not Endlessly Repeat the Same Exercises
You need to keep in mind that one and the same workout isn’t going to give you the same results indefinitely. Sure, for the first several weeks you could do virtually anything and still see some result but after a while, you will have to start changing something in order to see progress. You can either start by adding more weight to the bar or by increasing the number of reps. All in all, repetition is one of the most common mistakes made by beginners. Luckily, it is one that is by far easiest to rectify.
Take Regular Rests
Finally, you need to keep in mind that no matter how fast you want to advance, your body needs some time to recuperate. This is why you should never skip your rests. Training in gym puts you in a situation that is quite hard to emulate in nature. The physical hardships you will endure, the weights you will lift and the combination of actions you will make are something quite unique. Therefore, it is vital that you set aside some downtime after each of these training sessions.
READ: Common mistakes in sports training
And Never Give Up
While there is a lot you have to work on in order to get the results you need, by improving just these five simple things, you will no longer be a rookie gym-goer. The more you work on your gym routine, the greater effect you will see, which can, in turn, give you a big confidence boost. In other words, each of these mistakes keeps you away from unleashing your full potential at the gym. Don’t allow this to remain an obstacle for long!
