As human beings, we were made to move. However, in our push-button lives, we don’t seem to do much of that nowadays. Most of us lead desk-bound, sedentary, and busy lives. Moderate physical activity on a regular basis is essential for health and it helps you ward off several diseases while also helping you to reduce the risks of heart disease.
Perhaps you’ve been doing strength training in order to get your metabolism up and running. Maybe you simple want to tone or build your muscle. There are also other reasons as to why one would do strength training. For instance, I met a person who trained to strengthen his bones and become aerobically fit.
Whatever the reason may be, I know those who strength train and work really hard at the gym. But what if I told you that you were making some common mistakes which are simply ruining your workouts?
In many cases, there are a few bad habits that can ruin a fitness program. In this post, we’ll be looking at 3 of those and how you can overcome them.
1. Never Warming Up
You might believe you are saving time by neglecting your warm-up. But in truth, you are sacrificing results. If you aren’t fully warmed up, your blood doesn’t flow as it’s supposed to, and this is why you can end up struggling to generate strength. This results in a poor workout performance. What’s the quick fix? Simply arrive 5 minutes earlier and do a full warm-up.
2. Lifting With Your Ego
While working out at the gym, too many people let their ego get in the way. If you keep pushing yourself and add more weight to the bar even if you lose form, you are making a mistake. Remember that you won’t ever see good results from carrying out an exercise with reduced form. It doesn’t matter how much weight you lift, if you don’t do it with proper form, it won’t be as effective as doing it correctly. So leave your ego behind and try to master the form before moving up to a higher weight.
3. Going Through The Movements
You shouldn’t just go through all the motions during your workouts. You want to feel every exercise as you do it. Feeling every activity simply means dialing into your own body and feeling all the muscular contractions that are taking place. You can help this situation by focusing on your breathing. Doing so will help you tune out any distractions and zero in on what you’re doing.
So take a look at your current workouts. Do you find yourself guilty of any of the above mentioned bad habits? If so, get rid of them as soon as you can before they start sabotaging your results.