Exercise is vital for our health. Making and keeping up with a good workout plan is always going to be beneficial. It is important, however, to make sure you are going about everything the right way. There are many mistakes people make when working out, and many of these can cause significant problems. Therefore, it’s wise to be aware of what not to do. Here are some common workout mistakes and how to avoid them.

Doing Cardio Incorrectly

Cardio is incredibly important for your physical health. Cardio exercises work by raising your heart and breathing rates, which ultimately improves your heart, lungs, and circulatory system. And while many activities can raise your rates, only certain ones qualify as cardio workouts. The point of this kind of exercise is to challenge your cardiovascular system. You will get the best cardio exercise between 25 and 45 minutes. Anything less is cheating yourself, and anything over is going to exhaust you. The range between 25 and 45 minutes is known as the fat-burning zone. When your body becomes too exhausted, it will likely hit a plateau, at which point your workout becomes stagnant from lacking energy, halting your progress. Another detail to be aware of during cardio exercises is the target heart rate. You want to do cardio at 65% to 75% of your target heart rate. While you perform the exercise, focus on keeping your heart rate in that range. If you go over, you can actually start burning muscle instead of fat.

Overfocus on Running for Weight Loss

Another common mistake among amateur athletes is putting too much focus on running when you’re trying to lose weight. Yes, you should do a certain amount of running or other cardio exercises, but it’s not the only thing you should be doing. While you may want to be sleek, it is healthy to maintain a certain amount of muscle. For this, you will need to do the proper amount of weight training to build your muscles up. You can do this at a gym or at home. Look into finding quality fitness equipment from Ann Arbor and other specialty retailers. If you do excessive amounts of cardio, it can eat into your muscle. This can lead to low strength and endurance levels as well as joint problems. Your joints need a certain amount of muscle because it helps to support them. You are only working against yourself when you choose to do excessive amounts of running. It is also wise to consider that running can be hard on your joints after a while. Consider adding low-impact cardio exercises like cycling, using an elliptical, using a stair master, and swimming into your routine.

Not Giving Yourself Enough of a Challenge

When you work out, you want to make sure you are challenging yourself to your fullest potential. If you are working out to lose weight, you have to push yourself through a long enough period of cardio for your body to burn the calories. If you are lifting weights, you should choose heavy enough weights that you have to push your body to get up to 8 to 12 reps. With any exercise, your body should feel challenged. This is how you build endurance and see results in your physical shape. When you have completed an exercise, you want to feel some soreness. Getting yourself to the next level by increasing your pain tolerance is a part of building endurance. Do not try to do this immediately, though. You don’t need to do too much too soon. Just make sure that your body always feels some resistance. It is also important to keep a log of your workouts to track your progress as each week goes by. This will give you even more encouragement, as well as guidance. Another way to keep challenging yourself is to change up your workout. When you have followed a particular plan for several weeks, your body will get used to it. This means the workout will no longer be as challenging for you, and continual challenge is especially important if you are working on strengthening, toning, or bulking up your body. When you change up the workout, your muscles will essentially become confused, which will assist in the growth process.

Failing To Plan Ahead

When you’re trying to avoid the most common workout mistakes and how to avoid them, you’ll want to make sure you’re always planning ahead. A lack of preparation usually isn’t the first mistake that comes to mind, but it is significant. It is especially worth remembering if you are someone who works frequently. By the end of your work shift, you probably won’t want to go all the way home to change before you run to the gym, which means you’re more likely to actually go if you have your workout clothes already with you. Many people have to work a schedule that does not end until mid- or late afternoon. When you only have that time after work to get a workout in, it’s important not to set yourself up to miss it. While you might have a bit of energy to exercise after a work shift, the idea of having to drive home and go out again can seem exhausting. You can make better use of your time after work by keeping a gym bag packed in the back of your car.

Not Allowing For Proper Recovery Time

While you want to stick to a healthy workout regime, don’t neglect the time your body needs to recover. If you are putting your body through rigorous training, you will need the proper recovery time. Your body needs the intensity of a workout to strengthen and grow, but it also needs the rest. If you work your body too hard, you put yourself at a higher risk of injury. Lack of proper rest will also wear down your joints and muscles. It’s completely counterproductive when you’re trying to gain muscle to then wear it down by not giving your body a break. When you lift continuously, your muscles break down so that they can build back up stronger, but without the proper time to recover, they will just break down further.