There are a few basic mistakes to avoid when you’ve made the right decision to hit the gym. If not, you can cause the exercise to not work or even to be counterproductive for your health and for your time.
Table of Contents
#1. Not Stretching When Finish is a Mistake
It is also important to perform stretches at the end of the training since if we have subjected our muscles to a contraction work that is out of the ordinary. We must get them to return to their natural situation (the one they had before starting the training).
In this way, it is possible to prevent the muscles from being contracted, which, in addition to producing simple “stiffness” or muscular pain due to overload. Can lead to more important contractions and injuries.
When finished, stretch 3 or 4 minutes to get those muscles back to their initial state. Do it by stretching the muscles that are, stretching them consciously.
#2. Too Much Weight
Exceeding the load in the gym has risks since it can cause muscle injuries. In addition, when the goal is to improve endurance, the most effective is to work with little weight and perform many repetitions.
Start with weights that you can lift without too much effort to mark position and movement clearly. When you take a while (about 2 or 3 weeks), try to increase the weight a little. This way, you will define the muscles without overworking them.
#3. Talk at the Gym
If it is important to have an excellent respiratory capacity to face our daily activities, much more so when it comes to physical exercise.
First, because it helps us to oxygenate our entire body, and second because it will allow us to carry out the physical activity without exhausting ourselves.
If you talk while exercising, your oxygenation is not optimal. And breathing incorrectly can even cause you to miss certain exercise goals.
This occurs, for example, when doing sit-ups. If you hold the air in your lungs while contracting the area, the tummy may swell (due to internal pressure from the air), preventing you from showing off a flat stomach.
#4. Wear Clothes that Make you Sweat
It is a mistake to think that by sweating more, you are going to be able to lose fat in a localized way, but the only thing that you are going to achieve is to dehydrate the skin and create more flaccidity.
Instead of wearing clothes that make you sweat more, you should opt For clothes that are made from Breathable Materials. For example, you can wear a sports bra as a crop top which is comfortable to wear in the gym and also are quick and easy to put on and can often be worn alone, such as for summer runs or races. While none of us expects to look like a supermodel while we’re pounding away on the treadmill, looking good while working out can help to boost your confidence.
What’s more, when you start to sweat and lose fluids, you have to replace them with water and isotonic drinks.
#5. Doing too Much “Cardio” and too Few Weights
Complete training requires combining the two types of exercises, since cardiovascular allows you to be very fit, provides you with energy, and maintains you in your weight. Still, it does not manage to shape specific areas of your figure.
In addition, if you add muscle training exercises with some resistance to this aerobic routine (like the ones you do with weights). You will lose weight and define more quickly.
And it is not to be forgotten that the energy you need to do this exercise is necessarily obtained by burning fat. In other words, when you perform them, you also activate the metabolism.
Of course, at the beginning of the session, you have more energy. And therefore you should use it to perform the exercises that focus on your main objective. If you want to tone up, you should start with the toning exercises. But if your goal is to burn fat, it is advisable to start the session with cardio.
An effective formula to alternate both types of training is to start with 15 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, followed by a circuit of strength exercises. Then do 15 minutes of cardio, and you’re done with the power circuit.
#6. Choose “Pretty” Sneakers
You should not pay attention to either the colour or whether they are more or less attractive. The important thing is that they are specific to the sport you are going to do and that they hold the footwell to avoid possible injuries.
You should choose ones that have an air chamber (or a similar system) to cushion the impacts (if you do direct classes). And lateral reinforcements to hold the footwell.
#7. To do Crunches At your Leisure
Special care must take when doing abdominals. Since if they are performed with an incorrect technique (pulling on the neck or the back), the cervical or back can be damaged.
In addition, if you do not do the abdominal contractions well, you push the perineum down. And if that is repeat continuously, you can relax those muscles and facilitate urine leakage.
To avoid it, it is essential to perform the abdominals by force at the level of the navel, as if you wanted to carry it towards the back. Ideally, they should be done under the supervision of a professional.
#8. Running “Wrong” on the Treadmill
Your body has to go through several phases to gradually get used to overstraining and then to gradually return to rest.
It is what is called “calm down” and is necessary for a better organic recovery. And for the muscles to return to the state of “no tension” prior to that of sports practice. You should notice how the heart rate drops.
#9. Smoking Right After Leaving the Gym
If you are genuinely interested in preserving your health, you should consider giving up smoking. But if you still don’t feel capable of taking that step, at least avoid smoking right after the gym.
After making a physical effort(gym), the pulmonary alveoli are more open, and the tobacco toxins go directly to them. You should wait at least 2 hours to smoke your cigarette.
Also, note that smoking before exercise is also not suitable because it affects performance. Professional athletes are advised not to smoke during the 3.5 hours prior to a sporting event for this reason.
