10 Mistakes People Make In The Gym

 By Megan Driscoll

10. Doing the same thing all the time. Mix it up! Our bodies adapt to exercise fairly quickly - so if you are doing the same workout you did 2 months ago, it is not as effective because your body has become more efficient at it. You need to switch up your workouts in order to optimize results. Adding variety also helps eliminate boredom.

 

9. Only doing steady state cardio. Despite all the research that interval training is not only a better workout, but more effective, time efficient and engaging, people continue to hop on a machine, set it to a certain level and tune-out. It is important to vary the intensity within a workout. In doing so, you are not only reaping the above rewards, but improving your overall fitness level.

 

8. Not working hard enough. Period. Most people are not working out at a high enough intensity to achieve the results they want. In order to create change in your body, you have to really work for it. Lift heavier weights (low weight/high rep workouts are not only nonsense, but a waste of time) and step outside your comfort zone cardiovascularly. If you aren't seeing results, simply doing more of the same thing isn't the answer. Take your workouts up a notch. If you don't ask yourself at least once a workout WHY you are doing this, you probably aren't working hard enough!

7. Spending too much time at the gym. More is not always better. You can get a meaningful workout done in 30-45 minutes. Have a plan, be efficient, up your intensity, throw in some intervals (see #8 and #9) and get to work. Don't confuse quantity with quality. If you work hard and stay focused, you don't have to be a slave to the gym. Plus, knowing you don't need to be there forever may make going more enticing.

 

6. Not lifting weights. You know who you are. You get to the gym, beeline directly to the cardio equipment and stay there for 93% of your workout. The other 7% you spend stretching and doing "abs." Cardio alone doesn't cut it! In order to create body composition changes (aka: fat loss), you need to incorporate strength training into your workouts. This increases your lean muscle mass therefore increasing your metabolism. Now you are burning more calories all day long. Strength training can also increase bone density.

5. Isolating muscle groups. Stop with the biceps curls and calf raises! You should be performing compound exercises that incorporate your core, with your arms and legs. Stop chopping your body into parts. If you have a chest day and a back day, or an arm day and a leg day, I am talking to you! The goal is to integrate, not isolate. Your workouts will not only be more effective, but you are training real life movements that will make you better outside the gym. Instead of performing an overhead press seated on a bench with back support, try a squat to overhead press. Now you are working your legs, challenging your core and getting a better metabolic effect.  

 

4. Not training with functionality in mind. When I say functional training, I am not talking about standing on a ball juggling medicine balls, or some other ridiculous exercise you find on YouTube, but rather a movement that trains your body as a unit preparing it to function optimally in real life. For example, a single leg squat. Single leg squats incorporate balance, foot strength and ankle stability, core strength and synergy of the lower body muscles to perform a worthwhile task (every time you get in and out of a chair you are squatting). By working one leg at a time you are ensuring that each leg is equally equipped to support the body. This is important because most things in life happen on one leg at a time. Train the way you play. Be sure what you are doing in the gym has some translation to real life. Your program should not train exclusively strength, but power, flexibility and balance as well.

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