10 Common Gym Mistakes to Avoid

The gym offers so much variety when it comes to exercise, it's tempting to jump in and try it all. The gym is the place where you can dramatically improve strength, speed and fitness. This can greatly improve your on field performance.

Gyms have becoming a part and parcel of our lives, especially with people becoming more and more health and fitness conscious. However, going to gym has its own set of problems, especially if you do not know or do not follow basic gym safety measures which are essential to prevent common gym mistakes. Let's first familiarize ourselves with common gym mistakes to prevent them.

1. Coming Without a Plan: Always, always always come into the gym with a plan. Wandering around trying to figure out what to do next is a huge waste of time, and huge intensity drainer. Write it down or memorize it but always come in knowing exactly what you are going to do. If you have your workout mapped out, you can quickly move from one exercise to another without a hitch and if someone is using something you need, you can move right on to the next one and came back to it when it's free.

2. Skipping Your Warm Up: If you're short on time, you may be tempted to skip the warm up and jump right into your workout. But the warm up is one of the most important parts of your exercise routine. By easing into exercise with light movement, you can gradually raise your heart rate, increase oxygen to the body and increase blood flow to the muscles. Not only will that make the transition to exercise more comfortable, it also prevents injuries by increasing the elasticity of the muscles.

3. Using Bad Form: Using bad form doesn't just compromise your workouts; it also puts your body at risk, possibly leading to pain or injuries. Bad form comes in many shapes and sizes, but a few common mistakes can be given below:

   • Rounding the back: When bending over for an exercise, such as dumbbell rows, keep the back flat or slightly arched to protect the back from injury. To make it easier, bend the knees or rise up until you can keep the back flat.
   • Straining the knees: When doing squats or lunges, keep the knees behind the toes. Pushing the knees forward puts pressure on the joints and could cause injury. To avoid this, learn proper form for squats and lunges or work with a professional.

4. Holding your breath: This one may certainly look like a no-brainer. Don't forget to breathe when you lift. Whenever you feel that the activity is new for you, you will concentrate more on doing it correctly. During this, you forget the natural things that you need to do. For lifting, the breathing pattern is exhaling on the positive phase and inhaling on the negative phase. Holding your breath causes your blood pressure to rise. If you hold your breath for even a longer time, it may cause fainting.

5. Sticking to the Cardio Section: Women especially tend to camp out in the cardio section for their whole workout. It may the fear of bulk (which we all know is a myth) or it may just be because you prefer cardio, but cardio is only half the picture. It is true that if you are trying to lose weight, cardio should be your number one focus, but without building sleek muscles, you will still be flabby, you'll just weigh less. Muscle also boosts metabolism, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn through out the day, even at rest.

6. Doing too much too soon: If you're getting started with exercise, it's tempting to try to make up for lost time by doing everything at once. After all, you want to see results. The problem? You wake up the next morning and realize you need a crane to get out of bed. Some soreness is normal but if you can't function, you went too far. Tips for getting started: Ease into cardio. Start with 3-4 days at light-medium intensity until you get used to the workouts.

7. Doing the same thing over and over: If you've been doing the same routine for months or years, you're putting stress on the same muscles, joints and connective tissue every time you exercise. This could lead to an overuse injury as well as burnout and boredom. Some common overuse injuries include tendonitis, shin splints and stress fractures.

8. Wrong settings on weight machines: Make certain that the seat height and other settings are appropriate for you. Too high or too low a seat places abnormal stress on your joints. Many machines are designed for someone 5'9" tall. Have a trainer help you find a setting right for you.

9. Exercising on an empty stomach: When exercising to shape muscles, it is a bad idea to enter the gym in a fasting state. The body needs energy to lift weights and this energy comes from food, specifically the food you eat prior to the training session. Some light carbohydrates (rice, bread, fruits) is a good idea prior to the training session.

10. Not drinking enough water: Drink one-fourth to one-half of a cup of water every 15 to 20 minutes throughout your training session, and sip water continuously, before you're thirsty. By the time you're conscious of thirst; the body is already partially dehydrated. This can adversely affect stamina and concentration.

The purpose of working out is to challenge your body. These examples are only a few of the mistakes that people tend to make in the gym. Everyone has been making at least one of them at one time or another (without realizing). But, hopefully, this article has helped you realize what you are doing and fix the problem before it becomes a habit. If it becomes a habit, it will be tough to get rid of it.