Like I mentioned in my post yesterday, I am sure we all know someone who spends hours at the gym everyday and never really accomplishes much. You see them looking the same month after month. Here are a few common workout mistakes we all make and that we should try to avoid.
Not stretching. After doing a nice 5 minute warm up it's important to stretch out your muscles to avoid an injury. Stretched muscles are far less likely to be strained then tight muscles. Using bad form. Another thing I am just learning is the importance of proper form. You can be a pro at a particular exercise and still get injured if you are not using proper form. When you let yourself get lazy and let your form slip that is usually when you will sustain an injury. Sometimes I find it best to focus more on the form then on the number of reps I'm doing. My balance is pretty poor since I've had kids so sometimes it take me a lot more time to get the form right, but I can certainly tell when I have good form and when I don't.
Don't be a weekend warrior. A lot of people when they begin to approach middle age seem to take on the mentality of the weekend warrior. These are people who try to do a weeks worth of exercise in one day. I know several weekend warriors and they suffer a lot more injuries then they need to. We are all busy and sometimes the weekend is the only time that we feel we can dedicate to a fitness program. Do the best you can to find a time a couple of times a week instead of cramming it all in on the weekend.
Waiting until you're thirsty to take a drink. When we workout we sweat. We need to make sure we are replenishing the water we're losing. Don't wait until you feel thirsty. Drink water before, during, and after your work out.
More is better. More is not always better. It's not necessary to spend over an hour doing cardiovascular exercise. Studies show that the risk of injury outweighs the benefits after 60 minutes. Sessions of around 45 minutes most days are good for weight loss.
Over the next week I'd like to focus on juicing! This is one of our new favorite hobbies in my home. I'll share with you the benefits of juicing, recipes, and some interesting facts about. Stay tuned!
