Beginner Mistakes To Avoid

Mistakes are always going to be made and when evaluated, there are always things which could have been done better. If you’re starting out on a fitness or training journey, it can be beneficial to know certain factors to avoid or do better from the get go.

Below are a number of points which may be deemed as bad practice or a mistakes which many may fall trap to at the start of their journey.

Setting Your Goals To High

Although a vital step when starting your journey, setting goals can also be a detrimental factor should you set them to high. People may find themselves having their end goal as their one and only goal appose to setting the smaller steps of getting there.

As a result of this, it is possible that your motivation will become hindered when your goal constantly feels out of reach and can ultimately lead to you giving up.

This doesn’t discourage setting ambitious goals, however you should embrace the journey and appreciate progress and setbacks on the way.

High Intensity At Beginner Level

The intensity of your sessions is something to consider when looking to make progress. However, it can be easy for those starting out to go to intense from the get go which can ultimately lead to injury and set backs.

Intensity should be applied in moderation taking your experience into consideration and be applied at a level to exceed your comfort zone, but still being able to perform the exercises effectively.

As a beginner your body is yet to physically adapt to the new exercises which will be engaging numerous muscle groups and tendons that aren’t used to being used. Therefore, should you overload yourself with excessive weight and intensity, you’re likely to cause injury.

Relying On Supplements

As the fitness industry continues to rapidly grow, as do the markets within it. There is a magnitude of different supplements out there offering a number of benefits. However, a common mistake can often be for people to rely on these in order to make progress.

Supplements are there to aid and enhance your performance but should not be used in replacement to a structured and balanced diet. For example, consuming a high intake of protein can be difficult and therefore supplementing with protein powder can help you reach your goal.

With so many supplements on offer, it is important to research what may offer you the most benefit and why, as not all will be necessary. This will also prevent you from wasting money on those which you may not need.

Excessive Cardiovascular Exercise

Cardiovascular training is a key factor to implement within any fitness routine. It allows your respiratory system to work efficiently and vastly aid you progress within the your fitness and strength training.

However, when venturing into a weightlifting rescheme with the aim to build muscle mass, it is important to monitor the amount of cardio you perform on a weekly basis and when you may implement it. This is because cardiovascular exercise will ultimately lead to burning calories and potentially put you in a caloric deficit. For losing weight this is great, however when wanting to gain lean muscle mass, a caloric deficit could lead to the opposite effect if overdone.

The timing to which you perform cardio can also be a detrimental factor as if you perform intensive cardio at the beginning of a workout, it may leave you feeling fatigued and impact your energy levels for weightlifting, thus resulting in you lifting lighter weights for less reps and not optimising your strength.

As said, performing cardiovascular exercise is key to any routine and to maintain good health, however it is important to assess your goals to judge how often you implement it in as well as how intense you make each session.