5 Mistakes You’re Making at the Gym

Common gym mistakes could be sabotaging you
Common gym mistakes could be sabotaging you
Common gym mistakes could be sabotaging your goals

Gym mistakes are about as common as Kardashian references… and they could be keeping you from your weight-loss goals. Take post-workout nutrition: I always thought protein was the only post-workout prerequisite for muscle growth. Turns out I was wrong. Below, Mark Dudley, Fitness Director of Core Concepts Personal Training at Mountainside Fitness, reveals 5 everyday exercise errors that could be sabotaging your fitness goals, including the other all-important post-workout nutrient you didn’t even know you needed.

Five Common Fitness Errors That Reduce Training Effectiveness by Mark Dudley
1. Working out without being properly hydrated.
Your body needs fluids to function optimally. If you’re exercising and not properly hydrated, you won’t be able to train as hard or as long as planned. The proper hydration requirements are as follows:
-Drink 14-22 oz of water two hours prior to exercise
-Drink 6-12 oz of water every twenty minutes during exercise
-Drink a minimum of 16-24 oz of water or sports drink after exercise

Drink up if you don't want to peter out
Drink up if you want your energy up!

2. Not warming up prior to exercise. You should warm up for about 5 minutes prior to exercise. This increases your body temperature and allows your muscles to loosen up. Muscle strains and pulls are a result of not warming up, especially if you’re performing a strength or high intensity cardio workout.

3. Doing the same (or similar) workout each time you exercise. Your body will eventually adapt to your workouts unless you vary them each time you train. The calories burned are reduced significantly even after doing the same routine only twice. Worse, if the workout becomes too routine, you reduce the fat burning capacity, which is why you’re exercising in the first place.

Mix up your workouts for optimal results
Have you tried a Kettlebell class? Mix up your workouts for optimal results

4. Too much rest between weight lifting sets. You need to rest after each set of weight lifting because your body needs time to replace the energy burned during the exercise. However, too much rest reduces the training effectiveness. If you’re lifting to increase tone and definition (hypertrophy), your rest should be 30-45 seconds between sets. If you’re lifting to maintain muscle size, the rest period should be 45-90 seconds.

Avoid too much rest between sets
Avoid too much rest between sets

5. Focusing on pre-workout protein. The key time for protein is post-workout. Protein reduces muscle breakdown and helps give your body the nutrients necessary to build muscle directly to the muscle fibers. The building of muscle is critical to increasing your body’s metabolism and decreasing body fat. Timing is critical because there is a narrow window of time when muscle cells are nutrient receptive after exercise. You should drink 20-30 grams of Whey Isolate Protein within 30 minutes post exercise.

Just making these corrections to your training plan will allow you to train harder and maximize your hard-earned gains!!!

Mark Dudley, NASM Certified Sports Performance Specialist & Fitness Director of Core Concepts
Mark Dudley, NASM Certified Sports Performance Specialist & Fitness Director of Core Concepts
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