Are you making any of these common exercise mistakes?

Good clean nutrition is the number 1 key to weight loss and a healthy lifestyle but if you want to see maximum results then you should be exercising at least three times a week and moving at every opportunity. Below I have written about some common mistakes that could hinder your success.

Are you making any of these mistakes?

Doing the same workout for too long

If you want to keep losing weight or getting stronger it is vital that you keep changing your workout routine. 3 sets of 16 reps with 5 kg weights may be ok to when you start out but if you want to see results you need to keep the body guessing and push yourself a little bit harder each time you workout.

Using girlie weights

Woking out with weights that are too light is just a waste of time, once you are confident that you know the move are have good technique then go for the heavy stuff, seriously don’t be afraid of using the big weights, choose something you can do 8-12 reps with. You will be surprise at how heavy you can do.

Working in your fat burning zone

Forget the little charts on the cardio machines in the gym, the belief that working in your fat burning zone which is typically 60-70% of your maximum heart rate will get you burning more fat is wrong. It is true that when working in this zone a higher percentage of the calories burnt come from fat, but in fact you will burn a lot less calories in this zone, making the overall percentage smaller.

The table below is based on 30 mins activity

Activity	Cals Burnt	% of Fat Burnt	Cals used from fat
Rest	100	60%	60
60-70% MHR	300	50%	150
75-85% MHR	450	40%	180

Therefore the harder you work the cals you burn the more results you will see.

Skipping the warm up

No matter how short on time you are preparing the body for exercise is vital. Warming up improves your performance and decreases your chance of injury. Spending 5-10 minutes gently mobilizing the joints and increasing the heart rate will enable you to go for longer and be stronger.

Not stretching

There is currently great debate in the sports and fitness world about the effectiveness of stretching and when to do it, some say not before exercise, others say not immediately after exercise, but no one is saying don’t do it at all. When we exercise we are contracting the muscles causing them to tighten and shorten which if left can then cause postural imbalances in the body as the muscles pull the skeleton out of place.

Stretching allows the muscles to return to their natural length and the joints to be put through its full range of motion, keeping the cartilage nourished and healthy.

You may feel fine now but from the age of about 25 our flexibility begins to decline ( along with everything else!) performing regular stretches will help you keep the flexibility you already have. Stretch at the end of your workout when the body is warm and hold each stretch for 30 seconds.

Over fueling after your workouts

There is no doubt that a good workout will leave your glycogen stores low and in need of a refuel, however, for the majority of us a small snack is enough to keep us going. Energy bars and high calorie sports drinks could end up leaving you consuming more calories that you have burnt off in the workout. A banana, fruit with a few nuts or lean protien snack is an ideal after workout energy booster and will be plenty to keep you going until your next meal, which should be soon after.

Have a plan make sure you have a clear idea of what your plan for each workout is and what your end goal is. Going into the gym, to a fitcamp or for a run with no end goal in mind means you could find yourself wasting time and letting yourself off the hook when the going gets tough.

No pain no gain is not how you should be working out, if you are feeling pain other than DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) then something is wrong. When working out your should feel a tension or "burn" in the target muscle area but the joints should not hurt. Again get a pro to check out your technique, or use a mirror.

If you want something to get you started send me an email at www.personaltrainerleatherhead.com telling me a bit about yourself and I will send you a free gym workout.