Hitting the gym to work out and reap health-related benefits is a general norm everywhere. While this is a good habit, many individuals fail to remember many important factors during this routine.
Let’s look at the commonest mistakes committed by individuals working out at a gym:
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It’s Not about Trending, but Toning & Slimming
Every individual exercises with various goals in mind. While slimming, toning, strength training, and muscle building might be some of the primary goals of individuals, and some people enroll for a gym membership just to be in the trend.
But remember that gym training is all about pampering your body! Do it for your sake.
No Pain, No Gain
Physical activity involves ample training, and during such sessions, the hands, legs, or sometimes, the body could ache during the initial days.
The general assumption is that the more training someone has, the better it is for the body. Scientific research shows that the human body goes through cycles of stimulation, recovery, and compensation.
All three processes are necessary to progress but, we should also give enough time for recovery to improve body health.
Quality wins over quantity. Every individual has a maximum tolerable training limit. Many would love to train for long hours, but the quality of the workout is sometimes compromised.
When people focus on increased duration rather than an intense workout session, they end up doing junk workouts that cause more harm than health.
Footwear Choices
Anytime someone visits a gym, the very first instruction that comes from the trainer is for a good pair of shoes. Though this is a well-known fact, many of us take this for granted and don’t consider it important.
But, speaking genuinely, the choice of shoes makes a huge difference in progressing toward short, medium, and long-term fitness goals.
Don’t misunderstand “good” pair of shoes for expensive, branded, or latest model shoes.
Forget about such fancy shopping but focus on purchasing a pair of shoes that don’t have to cushion (used for running) but use indoor soccer shoes.
While performing complex and composite exercises, such shoes help provide better stability, thereby improve overall performance and safety as the footwear has closer contact with the ground.
Wearing Gloves at the Gym
Individuals love to wear additional accessories, maybe a wristband, a headband, or even gloves. But, wearing gloves or padding for squats could be a grave mistake rather than being a useful one that promotes better exercise performance.
Gloves might cause destabilization, increased slippage, and even wears easily. Overall, they might be more dangerous than we could think.
But, there are some exceptions here—a person who prioritizes their hand for looking good might need a pair of gloves to avoid compromising the visual aesthetics of the hand.
Such compromises also mean that some training variations must be avoided to protect the looks of their hand.
Copying Exercises from the Internet
Beginners, most times, are over-excited to get into a strenuous training routine and achieve a great sculpted body in no time.
For this, many of them search through the Internet, primarily focusing on various routines practiced by various popular artists and performers—authors, WWE fighters, bodybuilders, and more.
The primary problem here is that most of the routines followed by such people are never practically feasible for beginner trainers.
Instead, if someone wants to use the Internet to find exercise routines, it is better to look out for beginner bodyweight exercises.
Our body is the weight that we need and, practicing a simple bodyweight workout can decrease energy levels to such an extent that we feel happy to have performed a vigorous exercise routine.
Giving Way too Much Importance to Supplements
Gyms sometimes stock rows and rows of supplements, and many individuals are so impressed by such supplements that some of them substitute their food routines solitarily with supplements.
Overemphasizing supplements usage and prioritizing their use is a very common mistake most people commit.
Supplements can be a part of the daily routine for achieving better body health, but abundant gimmicks and marketing are happening with these products.
It is up to us to be wise, learn to differentiate between useful and useless ones, and choose those that improve endurance and promote pain-enduring ability.
Don’t be lured by cheap costing as many inexpensive pills are also cheaply manufactured and don’t guarantee quality.
Keep Looking Out for the Perfect Routine
As we start exercising and get into the nuances of fitness, many of us tend to dig deeper behind the science of training.
We start looking for the apt training routine that’s science-compliant. But, truly, trying to get hold of the perfect routine or the perfect diet is next to impossible.
Getting hold of professional assistance comes of help here but, if it seems expensive or not possible, it is always better to try various routines, adapt them to your requirements, and customize them according to fitness needs.
The science behind training and the popular exercise forms are of ample help when it comes to choosing routines, but nothing is better than putting them into long-term practice and test whether or not these are right for the body.
Switching between exercises now and then would never give better results as you would be jumping to some other exercise before realizing the benefits of the current one on the body.
Eating Clean
Choosing the healthiest of foods, avoiding any forms of junk, and being a picky eater who is always worried about calories would never take us anywhere.
Many trainers fall bait to clean diets, choosing everything healthy, counting macros in detail, and noting down the millimetric calories to calculate overall calorie input for the day.
But, in due course, such routines become unsustainable, and in fact, they are not necessary if the body is trained to work ut a little harder and train better during the day.
Eating clean completely doesn’t make any difference at the end of the day. Look for a well-balanced diet that supplements the body’s everyday requirements.
Buying Ourself from Someone
We all know that it is never ok to compare our routines and body fitness with others, but most of us fail to stand by this promise.
On observation, it is seen that some individuals perform better despite choosing the wrong foods and hardly following a regular training routine.
Each of us has a different body composition and a unique genetic composition, and buying with someone is one of the silliest ideas.
Most of us focus primarily on the negative areas in life and assume to be worse than others.
Instead, focusing on changing whatever is possible—our version—would bring definite positive advantages.
Let’s accept ourselves, improve our body health, and look at others as they are. Motivating ourselves with our changes for the better and pursuing the good things in life does change our perspective towards other things for the better.
Getting Into Frustration Levels
Starting slow during the initial days of training is common. Hence, getting frustrated over delayed progress is a common emotion that’s experienced by most people.
Remember that there are ample factors that affect progress. Hence, even though we might meticulously plan the workout schedule and eating regimen, things don’t go as planned.
Patience is the key to everything, and progress happens at a slow pace generally. So, rather than getting frustrated, let’s enjoy this journey, feel happy for every small advancement made, and cherish the exercise routine.
When we follow a good workout routine and stick to it, things are surely bound to improve.
Ignore Comments from Other People
Irrespective of what others say, don’t quit exercising at your convenient time—it could be a Friday night or sometime in the afternoon where others are partying. Some individuals might find this intriguing, but if you feel that it’s right for you, don’t hesitate but go ahead and exercise.
Never heed to peer pressure but do what’s right.
Waiting for Equipment
Never walk into the gym without planning the workout routine. Else, it would be an aimless waste of time. Sometimes, the place could be crowded, and you could end up waiting for equipment, thereby losing precious time that could otherwise be spent exercising.
Include exercises, reps, and sets, ordering them as per convenience. If the included exercises require any waiting time, change the circuit routine and choose different ones during the day.
If working with a buddy, both of you could discuss the routine and get into action altering between machines and saving time.
Forgetting Your Water Bottle
Having a water bottle handy is one of the very first rules that any trainer would recommend. Though going for a thirst-quenching drink in between the workout might seem a trivial affair, it does consume time.
Also, this wasted time could be utilized to perform more reps and sets. Take your water bottle, keep it filled, and use it whenever needed to stay hydrated.
Spreading Out Your Workout
We love to explore different gym equipment and become macho individuals. But, this doesn’t mean that we boss over others at the gym and occupy the entire gym.
Forming a circuit routine that involves taking over the whole gym is a bad habit. It not only inconveniences other gym trainers but also leads to ample waste of time from your end as well.
It is always better to group exercises that make use of equipment from the same area. Most gyms smartly arrange the weights and machines this way!
By doing this, the transit time between exercises is cut down, and you get to complete a fulfilling workout session by utilizing the maximum available time.
Skipping the Warmup
Everyone desires to skip warmup and go straight to the workout routine. But, doing this could injure the body.
Commit to a simple warmup that includes bodyweight exercises such as squats, lunges, jumping jacks, and likewise that increase heart rate before jumping over to weights.
Though time might be short, do allocate a part of the available time to do a warmup. Before doing squat or deadlift, a warmup session is mandatory for promoting better blood flow to the muscles.