Hello there! Today’s blog post is going to be a bit different than our previous ones. Why are we doing this? Well, this is because since the day we’ve opened our doors for business, we at Fitnacle have noticed a few common errors our customers tend to do on a regular basis. We like to call them ‘Workout Pitfalls’ because these habits tend to hinder productivity when one is at the gym! So here’s a list of our 7 Most Common Workout Pitfalls.
(1) Skipping Warm-Ups
Let’s start at the beginning. When you walk into the gym, your body isn’t really prepared to jump straight into strenuous activities just yet. Think of your muscles as a rubber band. Now, if you were to pull a cold rubber band out of nowhere, the rubber band will snap but when it’s heated up a little bit, it becomes more elastic and flexible. Warming up will not only loosen up your joints but will also trigger a reflex called Thermogenesis, where it raises your core body temperature which will then lead to an increase of blood flow to your muscles and other organs. Aside from that, once a higher amount of muscle elasticity has been achieved, this will help in the reduction of injuries to ligaments, tendons and muscle bulks.
(2) Not having a Game Plan
Now that you’ve done your warm-ups and your heart is pumping. You’re ready for a workout and when you look around, you have no idea what to do. This is a VERY common thing that we see on a regular basis. A lot of people tend to walk in to the gym and just try all the machines out just because they have no idea on what to do. This leads to a lot of wasted time. Besides that, not setting aside time for a workout and assuming you’ll just ‘Fit It In’ at some point in the day accounts for many missed workouts. Therefore, having a solid workout plan for each day when you’re at the gym ensures you that you will have a productive workout with the least amount of time wasted!
(3) Taking Your Phone While Working Out
Well this goes without saying, if you have it, you’re going to look at it which can affect your focus, workout effectiveness and mood. We at Fitnacle have observed people
working out at our establishment who sit down on their phones scrolling through social media during their rest periods. Hence, they have extended rest periods in between workouts. Not only are they wasting time doing so, but when our bodies are resting for an extended period of time, our body core temperature will start to drop, therefore, when resuming a workout after that, there is an increase in the incidence of injuries. If you really need to have your phone on you, set timings for your phone usage and limit them.
(4) Static Stretching Before Working Out
We’ve spoken about the two different types of stretching in our previous blog post. Well if you haven’t read it yet, then you should know that there are active movements stretching (Dynamic) and fixed position stretching (Static) stretching. Dynamic Stretching increases your heart rate, flexibility, and increases the body temperature. Whereas Static Stretches slows down your heart rate and reduces Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Hence, Static Stretches should be left at the end of your workout to prevent injuries.
(5) Overlooking Recovery
We have this common saying, “Chase performance, not soreness.” When you overtrain your body, your body does not have enough time to recover. It goes without saying that you will become more injury prone and more importantly it hinders with your muscle growth. Why? Well it’s because muscle recovery and growth occurs during rest. When you workout, your muscles will have micro tears which when those tears are healed, there will be an increase in size and metabolic demand. Along with taking recovery days, your diet has a very important role here. Your diet will dictate the level of your muscle recovery and growth. Therefore, recovery days are important aspects when working out!
(6) Being Inconsistent
People often hop from one workout to another wanting to try everything. While we understand the temptation to do so, we also need to mention that it does not yield good results. It’s a lot better to create a proper fitness routine and sticking with it would yield the best results. We often have customers who pay for their monthly membership but they would only be consistent in their workouts for the first few weeks but never follow through. You have to understand that changes don’t happen overnight. You have to push yourself constantly as this is a lifestyle not just a One-Time thing.
(7) Getting Too Comfortable With Your Workouts
Have you ever had moments where your muscle development was going very well and suddenly it came to a halt? Well, besides looking into your nutrition, you should also figure out if your workouts are getting to comfortable? Your muscles and metabolism have already been accustomed to your previously strenuous workouts. Once you have switched up your workouts and adjust your nutrition accordingly, then you will be back in the game!
Well now we’ve given you our 7 most common Workout Pitfalls. There are a lot more workout pitfalls which are worth diving into besides the one we’ve mentioned previously. We at Fitnacle hope that this blog post helps you and keeps you on a progressive pathway to Create the Best Version of Yourself!