Are you not progressing as fast as you’d like in your fitness journey? Here are the 9 common mistakes that might be keeping you from reaching your fitness goals!
Mistake #1: Not Learning Proper Form
Working out with poor form not only keeps you from actually hitting the muscles you’re trying to train, but also puts you at risk of getting injured. The former keeps you from making any real gains. The latter keeps you from training altogether.
Mistake #2: Not Watching Your Nutrition
Training is only one part of the equation. If you want to reach your fitness goals, you need to get your nutrition on point too. You need to give your body the fuel it needs to not only perform at peak capacity in the gym but also bounce back bigger and stronger from each training session.
Mistake #3: Doing Too Much Too Soon
Forget get-ripped-quick training programs. Instead of going all-out in the gym for a month and then quitting, start small and focus on making consistent progress over time. That’s the key to long-term success.
Mistake #4: Doing Too Little
Of course, there’s such a thing as doing too little as well. The goal is to do enough in the gym to trigger positive adaptations in your body. This means lifting challenging enough weights or running/cycling at a challenging enough pace.
Mistake #5: Doing Only Cardio
If you want to see results you need to do a mix of cardio and resistance training. The former helps you build endurance, burn fat, and keep your heart healthy. The latter helps you build muscle and strength while burning fat, improving your bone density and boosting your resting metabolic rate.
Mistake #6: Not Progressing
To keep making progress in your training, you need to keep challenging your body to do so. In terms of resistance training, for instance, you can do this by lifting more weight, doing more reps, doing more sets, or doing a combination of the three.
Mistake #7: Not Giving Yourself Time to Recover
You don’t actually build strength, muscle, or endurance in the gym. That happens between training sessions—provided you get enough sleep and fuel up on nutrient-rich foods during this time.
Mistake #8: Not Listening to Your Body
At the end of the day, your body is the ultimate measure of what works and what doesn’t. All the research and recommendations from experts on things like sets, reps, weight, and training frequency are ultimately just guidelines.
So, if you need a week to recover between workouts, give yourself that much time. If single-set full-body training is what works for you, do that. If you make gains doing low-rep heavy training, stick with that.
Mistake #9: Doing Something You Hate for Fitness
When it comes to reaching your fitness goals, consistency is one of the most important keys. Of course, there’s no way you can stay consistent if you hate your training protocol. So, make sure you stick to activities you enjoy or explore other, more fun ways to train with your coach.
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