Everyone starts fitness, bodybuilding or any sports practice with a certain level of departure. As training and experience progress, we learn, we surpass ourselves and we transform our body according to our objectives.
We all make mistakes during this learning phase: in this article we will together see 8 mistakes to avoid when you go to the gym.
1. Do not heat up
Going without a warm-up before your session is never a good idea. Indeed, warming up increases your heart rate before hard efforts.
It also helps prevent injuries like muscle tears.
Likewise, before each weight training exercise, it is advisable to do at least one series without weights, to warm up properly by targeting the targeted muscle group. This is an opportunity to see your feelings on the exercise in question, before loading the bar.
2. Being dehydrated
Whether you attack a cardio-training session, a group class or a physical resistance training, having your water bottle is compulsory at the gym.
You will lose a lot of water during your physical session, you will need to drink before the session, during and after the session.
Drinking water regularly during your training session, and throughout the day, is essential so as not to unnecessarily tire your body, to be able to overcome yourself and have enough energy to come back the following days.
3. Don’t time your recovery times
The rest times between each series and each exercise are fundamental in order to be able to maximize your training sessions.
There is no ideal rule in this area, everyone recovers more or less quickly depending on their level, age, state of fatigue at the time, and many other factors.
It is best to listen to your body and set a recovery time that matches the type of effort you are providing.
4. Don’t plan your workout
You registered for the gym with the goal of achieving any kind of physical transformation. To reach this goal as quickly as possible, you now need a battle plan for each of your sessions.
This is called a training program, it is the detailed session by session of what you will do as exercises, series, repetition numbers, weights, recovery times, etc.
Having a training program that matches your goals is very important. SmartFit supports you with turnkey programs whatever your needs.
5. Wait until the equipment is available
You have your program in hand or on the mobile phone, ready to attack your session thoroughly, only there is a problem, the weight bench with which you wanted to start the session is already occupied …
In these moments, do not wait for it to become free: you will lose precious time, your body will cool down with even the risk of injury.
Be flexible, know how to develop your program by preparing a plan B in advance.
What to do if the squat cage is taken? Knowing the different variations of an exercise is very useful in the busy times in the room.
6. Always do the same
The body responds and adapts according to the stimuli we inflict on it. This is the famous notion of progressive overload which has been widely discussed in bodybuilding.
Because yes, it is the fact of increasing the level of difficulty of your sessions over time that will determine your progress. It is therefore essential to keep in mind (or write down in a notebook) the weights that you are able to lift to increase them little by little and avoid stagnating with the same routine.
The elements that can be varied are the exercises, the series, the number of repetitions, the loads and the recovery times. Surprise and shock your muscles by changing your routine often enough is a good way to stimulate growth. A concrete example consists in integrating “supersets”, that is to say, chaining several exercises without recovery time.
7. Lack of courtesy
At peak times, your room can sometimes be crowded: even if the social aspect of a fitness room is very motivating, you still need to be courteous to allow everyone to have the best possible experience.
Among the rules of courtesy in a fitness room, there is for example the fact of cleaning the equipment used with paper to remove sweat. This allows the next member to take full advantage of the machine without any inconvenience.
Likewise, unloading machine weights after use is very important, both for safety reasons and to allow the next member to load his machine as he wishes. Sometimes a person does not have the strength to unload an already loaded machine, so that he cannot use it.
8. Caring too much about what others think
Everyone goes to the room with their goals and their personal motivation. Some people aim to gain muscle mass, others want to lose weight, just get back in shape or even relieve the stress of the week by working out.
There is no point in basing your training based on what others are doing in the room. You have your own program (see error # 4) and stick to it. Focus on your goals and effort and you will see your results increase, although you can always ask more experienced members of your room for advice.