Fitness MistakesI made my mind up it was time I started looking after myself a little more a few months ago so I joint the gym, I unfortunately gave up very quickly so I spoke to a personal trainer and asked him why he thinks I have failed so miserably. Here’s his list of the biggest fitness mistakes that could be holding me back he feels.

1. No fitness plan means no hope

Most people love a plan. A lot don’t. If you have a workout plan, a purpose or specific aim, then you have a template to success. If you follow it, the chances are you will achieve your goal. If you don’t, you won’t and although it sounds nice to just pop into the gym and make it up as you go along, that strategy just doesn’t produce results. A plan will help you track your progress, challenge your workouts and help you develop and progress.

2. Doing too much exercise too soon

The trouble is too much exercise too soon could lead to injury, boredom, lack of motivation and a fitness regime that fizzles out a month after it starts. Your body needs time to rest and recover between workouts and remember that healing, muscle repair and fitness development and adaptation will happen when you let your body rest. The best plan is always to train smart rather than slogging it and that includes everything from getting your warm up right, with the appropriate stretches to cooling down properly.

3. Not enough variety in your workouts

Don’t get stuck in a rut. It’s something that is easy to fall into, especially if you’ve seen a personal trainer and had your own bespoke workout designed for you. That’s great, but it needs to be assessed and tweaked regularly. If you keep doing the same exercises your body will adapt to it and your progress will plateau.

4. Not pushing yourself enough

Tempting though it is sometimes to stroll out of the gym after 20 minutes with barely a bead of sweat on your brow, it really is not the way to earn killer abs. Even the most enthusiastic fitness fanatic has days in the gym/on the road when they’re not really on it. Everyone is allowed a slight aberration from time to time, but for some people, every day is a light workout where they really don’t burn many calories. If you don’t get that heart rate up you simply won’t burn calories/fat or lose weight/tone those problem areas. It’s a simple equation. Hard work brings results. Now that doesn’t mean work out until you faint, but it does mean get a sweat on and get those endorphins going.

5. Not working out correctly

It is always a great idea to seek advice when you are starting a new fitness routine and the most important advice will be technical tips on how to do it properly.

6.You refuel too much

It’s always extremely important to refuel after any training session. Your body uses energy from its glycogen stores when you work out and if you want your muscles to recover properly, you need to replenish that energy. Rehydrate with water and snack on healthy options like fruit and nuts. A healthy balanced diet will help you hit your fitness goals and improve the quality of your workouts.

7. Too much cardio exercise and ignoring weights

Many people shy away from weights because they’re worried about bulking up. They tend to think that running or cycling miles and miles rather than workouts in the gym, will take them where they want to go. That is understandable up to a point, but by ignoring weight training you ignore huge potential health and fitness benefits. It’s important to bear in mind that you are always in charge of how much weight you lift and the impact that has on your body, However if you want to tone muscle, increase your calorie/fat burn and boost your metabolic system, then low level weight sessions are a fantastic idea.

So I am starting again and taking on board all that my personal trainer has told me and I am going to listen to my body also, wish me luck!