We have reached that time of year where our bodies become the focus. I think the saying goes something like “new year, new me”. Everywhere you look there is something related to fitness. The stores took down the holiday items as quickly as they always do, and replaced them with workout clothes, and fitness gear. Gotta love retail! It is kind of hard to avoid hopping on the fitness train when it is everywhere you look, but where do you start when you have taken a break from fitness? While it may be a good idea to make sure your workout clothes and gear are ready for the gym, there are other things to consider. If you are someone who has been away from working out for awhile keep reading to learn about some of the biggest fitness mistakes beginners should avoid.
The Biggest Fitness Mistakes Beginners Should Avoid
Plan Your Weight Loss Goals
Let’s be real for a second. There are so many commercials and deals at the gyms that are enticing and make us want to sign up. Sometimes it can give us a false sense of reality that we are going to join the gym and see results immediately. The first mistake you need to avoid is having unrealistic expectations. I want you to take the time to think about your body and your fitness goals and set realistic weight loss goals for yourself. If you want to reach your weight loss goal, you must stay focused and consistent.
Instead of hopping onto the next fitness craze, take the time to learn what works best for your body and stick to it. Remember that Rome was not built in a day, which means that getting fit is not going to happen overnight. There is no magic tea or shake that will suddenly make you lose weight unless you are willing to put in the effort.
Fitness Mistakes Beginners Should Avoid 1: Setting unrealistic expectations. Set realistic goals for yourself based on you body, your diet, and how often you will be able to commit to working out.
Working Out At The Gym – Don’t Skip The Warm Up
Something that I frequently notice around this time of year is people coming straight into the gym and hitting the heavy weights or attempting to start sprinting. One of the biggest fitness mistakes to avoid is skipping your warm up. By walking into the gym and going straight to the heavy weights or beginning to sprint, you risk injuring yourself.
Next time you’re at the gym, avoid going right into your to-do list for the day and take a few moments to warm up. The best way to warm up is to do some low – intensity cardio. I typically warm up on the elliptical machine for 5 – 10 minutes to get the blood flowing to my muscles.
Fitness Mistakes Beginners Should Avoid 2: Don’t skip warming up. Warming up helps to decrease the risk of workout related injuries and it increases the blood flow to our muscles which leads to faster muscle relaxation.
Being Too Particular/Unrealistic
You have heard it many times, and you may have even said or done some of these things yourself. Saying things like “I will go to the gym 5 times a week for the rest of the year” or “I will never eat fast food again” can be counterintuitive when it comes to your weight loss goals.
If you are someone who has not been working out consistently for a while, it can go against your weight loss goals. While this behavior of working out daily may last for a week or two, you will quickly trail off because this is not part of your lifestyle.
In the spirit of being realistic do this instead; think about how many times you can realistically make it to the gym or commit to a home workout each week. Also, think about your eating habits. Instead of going cold turkey with the fast food, try to slowly eliminate it from your diet.
Look at what you typically eat each day, if you usually eat fast food for lunch, try to pack a healthy meal to keep you on the right track to making healthier choices.
Fitness Mistakes Beginners Should Avoid 3: Set realistic goals and stick to them. Do not force yourself into habits that will quickly make you burn out and stop working out.
This 7-day meal plan can help find healthier food alternatives.
Not Understanding Your Why
Going to the gym and fitness in general are hard work. There will be days and periods of times where you simply don’t feel doing it. These are the times where it will be important to understand your why. There is a reason why you decided to start a fitness journey, and that will be the motivation that keeps you going even when you do not feel like it.
Think about why you started. Is it to feel better in your clothes, to have more energy to play with your children? To feel better when you look in the mirror? We all start working out for one reason or another, so make sure you keep your why in mind when you start to fall out of your routine. Use these tips to give you a boost of motivation.
Fitness Mistakes Beginners Should Avoid 4: Make sure you understand the why behind your fitness journey. Keep that in mind in times when you do not feel motivated to workout.
Not Eating Properly
Above I briefly talked about the importance of doing things in moderation such as not trying to stop eating the things you usually eat cold turkey.
Some people believe that they can eat anything they want if they get in a few more workouts.
This behavior and belief are not realistic because it really is possible to eat to a point where you negate your workouts. It is important to take what you eat seriously, make sure you buy quality unprocessed foods and plan out your meals and snacks to avoid making bad food choices.
Fitness Mistakes Beginners Should Avoid 5: Take your food intake seriously by planning your meals and not overeating after your workouts.
Comparing yourself to others
One of the biggest fitness mistakes we make is comparing ourselves to others. It is important to understand that we are all very different and that our bodies react to exercise and maintaining a proper diet differently.
You may start a fitness journey with a friend, and she may see results a bit faster than you. Do not take this as a sign that the things you are not doing are not working but understand that each body is different.
When it comes to your personal fitness goals, there is no competition. You are your only competition, and you must be prepared of the people that you will come in contact with along your journey. There will always be someone stronger and more fit, but that should not be your main concern. You are your main concern, so write down your goals, be realistic about them, and remain consistent.
Fitness Mistakes Beginners Should Avoid 6: Do not compare yourself to others. Understand that you are your only competition and stay focused on your personal goals.
Don’t forget to pin this pin to your favorite fitness board on Pinterest!
