Three mistakes that are holding you back with your health and fitness
New to the fitness trend, but unable to really get going? Here are some simple steps to help get on the right track.
In this modern age, many things seem to be on trend. From avocados on toast to ripped skinny jeans — being ‘on trend’ is the cool thing to do. Along with this is the surge of health and fitness, and increasing numbers of people trying to improve their health and well-being. Of course this is fantastic to see, and long may it last! However, with the increase in numbers of people joining the gym brings countless problems to these newbies in the iron playground.
Let this be your guide to the ‘fresh start’ that you are looking on your journey to a healthier, happier life. First things first, one does not even have to set foot in a gym to improve their health & fitness. Simply taking control of your diet and food, moving more throughout the day and finding a new hobby or sport can make all the difference when wanting to reach certain goals, without ever spending a penny on memberships or classes. Nevertheless, if you do decide to bite the bullet and join the local fitness craze, below are some of the things that should be avoided; not only to save you some time and money but also prevent a possible injury.
Going through the motions and not having an end goal in sight
Before you ever put on your new skin tight spandex, new runners and buy that fancy water bottle, you must have a clear purpose and goal set in place. Simply going to the gym and doing a ‘little bit of this; little bit of that’ from what the others are doing, is too often the number one mistake made. A self-evaluation is needed. Do you need to lose weight? Do you need to become fitter? Or do you need to improve your performance on the sports pitch? Evaluating yourself and once again having that goal in sight should be the number one priority. Once this is complete, then you can take the appropriate steps to achieving this.
Often a coach or trainer may be needed for assistance and guidance, or possibly an appropriate gym complex that has suitable equipment and facilities. It makes no sense that a mother who is looking to get a little fitter while her children have swimming lessons starts a strict weight lifting program, or a 120kg weightlifter attend an aerobics class. Pin point what your goal is, and adjust your training and exercise to that.
“The more weight the better!’’
We’ve all been there. Loading that little extra on the bar or using those dumbbells that are obviously too heavy, but look damn impressive... shame on you. You may turn a head or two — or get that a decent Instagram photo — but the actually benefit is next to nothing when our egos take the reigns.
Hypertrophy (the building of lean muscle tissue) is achieved by effectively putting the target muscle group under tension and ultimately tearing the muscle fibres to be later rebuilt and increase in size. This is best achieved when a weight is used in a slow and controlled manor, focus on stretching and squeezing the target muscle — not jerking and slamming the weight like a wild gorilla. If the exercise is new to you or you feel somewhat weak in that area, always start off light. Get the rhythm of the movement, feel the target muscle contract and stretch and after time, slowly add weight to the movement when it becomes easier. Slow and controlled will always trump loud and proud.
Along with this, completing each rep in the correct range of motion will give the optimum result. This simply means when doing an exercise, lets take the squat for example, you are squatting to below parallel (upper thigh is parallel to the ground) and then powering back up and locking the hips forward. This is the full range of the exercise, and will ensure that the correct form is being used, muscle group is being activated and optimise the hypertrophy effect in the muscle group. Become familiar with your own ROM, as everyone will have different levels of mobility, and make sure your getting the most out of each rep, in a controlled manor.
Ah, I’ll go tomorrow...
Planning on going to the gym, but then the Simpsons comes on? Fine, half an hour and we’ll go — which often ends up being an hour — and eventually it’s too late now sure, we’ll go tomorrow evening! My point being, inconsistency is often the reason your not seeing the results you feel you should be getting. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your dream body or fitness goals if you’re a yo-yo gym goer.
Finding a routine that lets you fit in the gym when you can and when its enjoyable will be the key to consistency. I’m not saying you need to be there for 4 hours a day everyday of the year, but simply starting with 2–3 times a week consistently will start to show the results wanted, which is often the motivation needed to up it to four days a week, and so on. Like everything, these things take time and patience. Finding a hobby or training style that you enjoy and isn’t a chore every evening after work, but acts as a mental break and stress reliever is what will kickstart your progress toward your goals.
It may sound simple, but its the simple things done well that work. I can’t stress enough that there is more to health and fitness than the gym. Some people love it; its a place where they can go and have 1–2 hours of alone time and clear their head space, all while improving themselves both physically and mentally. For others, its a place of pain and boredom, and only making them feel less motivated then when entering.
There’s nothing wrong with this, and it only means you haven’t found the right activity for you yet. This is where other sports and hobbies come into action. There are literally 100s of clubs and societies to join nowadays and get people out and about and moving, which at the end of the day is what we are aiming for; to get you moving and feeling better about yourself. Grab a friend and try something new, the worst thing that can happen is you get a hilarious story to tell about that time you tried something different.
Whether it be inside the gym or elsewhere; alone or with a buddy, try something new. Challenge yourself and take the appropriate steps, that suit you, to improve your health and lifestyle.
