How to duck Common Health and Fitness Mistakes

Common Health and Fitness Mistakes

I also experienced myself this mistake as I did not warm up start running this which leads to tear of my calf muscle.

Both beginners and experienced exercises can be guilty of a few fitness blunders from time to time. Some may even become a regular part of your fitness routine, much like a bad habit. But, to get the best results from all your hard work, it’s important that you don’t find yourself creating a fitness routine filled with mistakes. This can set you up for injury, lack of results, boredom and plateaus. Analyze your fitness routine on a regular basis and ask yourself if you fall into any of these common blunders.

Health and Fitness Gaffe #1: Avoiding the Warm Up, Cool Down, and Stretches

This is one of the most common bad habits of exercisers! You finally committed yourself to a fitness routine, and you don’t want to waste any time, so you jump right into your work out without warming up, cooling down, or stretching. After all, those low-intensity segments are meaningless and a waste of time, right?

NOT TRUE! Warming up, cooling down and stretching should be the foundation of your exercise program. They should be viewed as a transition into (and out of) exercise, allowing your body and mind to prepare for running, jumping, or strength training. Here is what you gain from proper warm-up, cool downs and stretching sessions:

Your muscles and connective tissue loosen to prepare for the stress of exercise

Oxygen and blood flow to your muscles and connective tissue increases, providing fuel for better muscular performance

Tension in your body decreases

Breathing patterns establish, helping relax the body during exercise

Joints are lubricated to allow for better performance

Muscle soreness is prevented and/or reduced during and after your workout

Better body awareness

Quicker reaction time

Improved posture

Improved coordination

Quicker recovery

Decreased muscle soreness

You’ve probably exercised without warming up properly, for example, and maybe nothing horrible happened. It may seem unnecessary, but consistently skipping it will limit your gains and put you at risk for injury. You could even be injured without even knowing it since you may not feel any pain right away.

Fix it Tip

Try to warm up with a low impact exercise for 5-10 minutes. A light sweat is a good indicator of your body temperature rising. Follow your workout with 5-10 minutes light exercise to cool down, and stretching, head to toe. Most of your flexibility benefits will come from your post-exercise stretch because your muscles will be so warm. To learn more about the differences between these workout components.

Health and Fitness Blunder #2: Looking For Instant Satisfaction

We are a culture of instant gratification seekers! Expecting fast results from a new diet and fitness plan is very common. Unfortunately it is one of the worst mindsets a beginner can create. You know about all the great benefits of exercise, like increased energy, weight loss, and better health. You exercise for a week straight, wake up the following Monday completely wiped out, a couple pounds heavier (because the exercise made you so hungry), and you have a cold. What gives?

Exercise definitely provides many great benefits, but the results are often seen weeks or even months after you begin. When you are consistent:

Your metabolism speeds up to allow for weight loss

Your body will adjust to the stress of exercise and you’ll feel more rejuvenated

Your immune system improves to help prevent sickness

Your strength and endurance improves, making exercise (and daily tasks) easier

Your mood and energy levels stabilize throughout the day

You sleep better at night

You look and feel better!

Fix it Tips

Don’t throw up your hands if you don’t see what you are looking for. Analyze what you are doing and try to make adjustments. It’s worth it.

Try to focus on other improvement besides weight loss--how you feel, how much you’ve learned, how you have more energy, etc.

Keep in mind that progress may be slow in the beginning. It probably took you many years to gain the weight you are trying to lose. You can’t expect to take it off in a fraction of the time. Plus, slow and steady weight loss (about 1-2 pounds per week) is healthier--AND you’re more likely to keep it off when it happens at this rate.

Get support and encouragement from a buddy, your friends and family, or on the message boards. Sometimes a kind word is all you need to stop you from giving up.

Health and Fitness Blunder #3: You’ve done the same cardio and strength training workout for the past six months.

 

When you first start a new activity, your body responds more readily, and you begin to see results. Maybe you lose a little weight, begin to see muscle definition, or notice you are getting stronger. But over time, your workouts aren’t as challenging. After a month or two, you stop losing weight and can’t figure out why you’re stuck.

After about 6 weeks, your body starts getting used to the activity you have been doing. It’s no longer challenged when that activity becomes a normal part of the routine. If you want to start seeing results again (or just continue the progress you’ve made), you have to change something about your routine. If it’s cardio, add a variety of activities to your workout. Try a new class or machine, or take up a new sport.

If you love what you’re doing now, you don’t have to give it up. You can stick to your favorite activities—just try to increase your intensity and duration. If you walk, add some speed work, increase your distance, add hills to your route—anything that makes it different will keep your body guessing.

For strength training, be sure to change your exercises every 4-6 weeks for the same reasons. You can change your workout by:

Increasing or decreasing your weight, reps, or sets

Moving from machines to free weights; trying new equipment like tubing or bands

Experimenting with more body weight exercises for variety

Adding balance elements (stability balls, standing on one leg, BOSU, etc.)

Reversing the order of your exercises

Trying a new exercise for each muscle group (such as chest flys instead of a chest press, or front raises instead of lateral raises)

Health and Fitness Blunder #4: You start a new program and are disappointed when you don’t see results in the first week.

Everyone is different. So even though you start an exercise program, it might take a few weeks for the number on the scale to budge. The important thing is not to get discouraged. Even if you don’t lose weight right away, there are many other important changes you’ll notice in the first week or two. Regular exercise helps you sleep better, increases your energy, reduces stress, and helps you feel better overall. Don’t overlook these benefits!

If you do lose weight quickly in the first week or two, don’t get discouraged if it slows down a little after that. You should expect to lose an average of 1-2 lbs per week if you stick to a program of regular exercise and eating right.

Have you ever started a workout routine, thinking you’re doing everything right, only to find out there were some important things you missed? Here are some common workout mistakes that most of us have made from time to time, and what you can do to prevent them from happening to you.