6 Common Fitness Mistakes Most Beginners Make and How to Fix Them
Working out is a great way to boost health, both physically and mentally, but these common fitness mistakes most beginners make can be anti-productive and even harmful to our bodies.
Wellness is all about progress, not perfection. However, we want to ensure we make progress in a healthy, sustainable way. Learn what the most common fitness mistakes most beginners make are and what to do instead to fix them today!
6 Common Fitness Mistakes Most Beginners Make
Here are the 6 common fitness mistakes most beginners make and how to fix them! Learn what the normal issues are and troubleshoot them quickly to get the most out of your fitness journey.
1. Unstructured Workouts
One of the biggest mistakes, especially when you are trying to build strength, endurance, etc., is having an unstructured workout. If you start lifting, and just do a full-body workout, you are missing out on a lot of crucial gains. Breaking down your workouts to target different muscles (e.g. having a leg day, a push day, a cardio day) can help you maximize strength-building capacity.
Plus, you need to track the weight you are lifting, pulling, or pushing. Without tracking, you will not know how much you progress, nor will you be able to adjust as you gain strength.
2. Mindless Movements
Sometimes, especially as a beginner, we tend to just go through the movements of a workout without thinking about form or mind-body connection. Slowing down and thinking about the movement you are performing has many benefits. First off, it helps you perfect form, which can help prevent injury. A Romanian deadlift, for example, is a movement that requires perfect form so as to not stress and injure the lower back.
Plus, when you slow down your movements, you increase time under tension. This increase in time under tension can help boost muscle building activity in the body greatly. Remember not to move up in weight before you perfect form, as that too can lead to serious injury.
3. Not Eating Enough
If you want to lose weight, eat less. If you want to gain muscle, eat more. Calories in, calories out. It’s simple, right? Not always. First off, it is common for people to start doing intense workouts and eat less. This, in theory, should cause rapid weight loss. In actuality, intense workouts, while not eating enough, can lead to metabolism disarray. Your body prepares for periods of starvation and may actually make it harder for you to burn energy.
When you start working out, no matter if you want to gain muscle, lose weight, or maintain current weight, you have to eat enough. This includes increasing protein, fueling your body before a workout with healthy carbohydrates, and consuming healthy fats regularly.
4. Not Having a Goal
Not having a goal can make fitness tough. This makes fitness a bit unrewarding. On the other hand, another issue is having a goal and changing it too quickly.
It can be something general like wanting to be stronger or something more specific like learning how to do a pull-up. It can be training to run a 5k or a half marathon. Whatever you want, you need to give it time, stick with it for at least a couple of months, and see it through. Remember though, making adjustments and changes is ok, especially for health!
5. Being Inconsistent
Progress takes time. Working out can be easy at first, then gets harder as you train and see no progress. Again, it’s all about time. It becomes a bit harder, and eventually, as you stick with it, it becomes a habit.
Be consistent about working out and health. Meal prep, easy recipes, and plan ahead. Plan out workouts, start small, and slowly increase as fitness becomes something to look forward to.
6. Not Resting
Rest is essential, crucial, vital, and every other synonym under the sun. Working out is, well, work. Rest is when you cash in and get those benefits. During sleep, a lot of important processes happen that repair and grow the muscles. In fact, studies have shown that people who rest gain more muscle faster than people who are sleep-deprived. Here’s a full article on that concept, including how to get a good night’s sleep with ease!
Besides sleeping enough, it is important to take rest days. If you are training intensely, your body needs a day to repair itself. Recovery days can be active. You can do yoga, go on a short walk, or stretch. Finally, you should rest for a bit in between sets. This will help you prepare for the next set and perform better.
Quick Tip Basics For a Fitness Journey
Here are some tips to help get the most out of your workout whether you are on day one of your fitness journey or day 100!
- Fuel your body – eat enough before and after a workout, including adequate amounts of protein.
- Rest – sleep, resting in between sets, and taking rest days in general are very important in a fitness journey.
- Watch others – watch videos on form and learn about proper form while you train and build muscle memory.
- Track – track the weight you lift, the food, you eat, the days you work out, etc. This will help you celebrate progress.
- Stick with it – make sure you give yourself enough time for results to come through. Stick with a workout plan and watch wellness flourish.
The Takeaway
While we all may have different journeys, common fitness mistakes can slow down our progress. This guide will help you find out the issues and fix them early on so that mistakes do not become habits.
Remember that health comes from within, so eat nutrient-dense meals, exercise at least 3 times a week, and care for your mental health. Daily habits become the building blocks for emotional, mental, and physical health. Take care of your gut health too! Learn everything you need to know about gut microbiota today for free here.
