Oops! Are you making the 5 most common workout mistakes?

1. You spend your precious workout time on a the stationary bike to shed pounds.

If you’re workout seems easy… that’s because is IS! The stationary bike does have benefits for people with recovering knee or back injuries, but if you are looking to shed some body fat fast, then sitting down, staring at a TV only half way focused on your workout is NOT the way to do it. Instead of spending your 30mins of workout time on the stationary bike, which will only burn about 200 calories, get up and challenge yourself! Spend 10mins jogging and sprinting doing intervals on the treadmill or outside. Spend the next 15min on an intense focused weight lifting circuit, and finish with a 5min core workout. You will be in and out in 30mins, and will have much more significant results than sitting on the bike, pretending to workout. 

2.  You rush through every exercise and explode through each rep, to get stronger, faster.

Certain athletes greatly benefit from explosive movements and exercises. Putting full force, all at once, as quickly as possible triggers fast twitch muscle fibers, which is great for people like sprinters. However, if you are in the gym working out with the goal of getting stronger, rushing through every rep is not necessarily the way to do it.  Most often, trying to rush through a movement will cause you to swing the weight, using momentum to lift it, rather than the strength of your muscles. Instead try to concentrate on the muscle being worked, and move slowly, with perfect form through the entire motion of the exercise. You can even try to hold the weight, pausing at the most challenging part. It takes much more strength to maintain control of the weight throughout the entire motion, then to simply swing it and get it over with.

3. You are crunching your way to that 6-pack.

If your ab routine looks something like this: 300 crunches, 100 bicycles, 200 twisters, blah, blah, blah… you have definitely been making the 3rd most common workout Oops! Crunches primarily work the rectus abdominus (the front layer of abdominal muscles) … but what most people forget is that your abdominal muscle group is much more than just the washboard you’re working so hard for. In order to have a strong core you need to work the whole thing! Exercises like the plank will strengthen the transverse abdominus, as well as the rectus abdominus. Use the side plank exercise to strengthen your internal and external obliques. Plus, 6-pack abs are not sculpted my countless reps of crunches in the gym- abs are made in the kitchen! Even if you have the strongest abs in the world, no one will see them if there is a layer of fat on top. 

4. You always eat a banana to replenish and refuel after a workout.

It’s always great in incorporate healthy fruits and veggies into your diet, and we all know how important it is to fuel your body right, especially before and after a workout. So many people have turned this 4th workout Oops into a habit. Eating a banana after a workout is not necessarily a bad thing, but so many people don’t even really understand why they do, or if its even the best choice. After a workout your body loses electrolytes like potassium. However, this depends greatly on the duration and intensity of your workout. If you only have a time for a 30min workout, and you leave the gym with barely a drop of sweat, you don’t need to go down bananas, why consume the calories? However, if you spend an hour or more, performing high intensity, challenging, demanding workouts, then feel free to replenish all the potassium you want. But you don’t have to consume the extra carbs in an effort to get the potassium. Beets, brussel sprouts, milk, raisins, spinach, tomatoes and squash all have as much or even more potassium than a banana.

5. You slurp down a sugary, chemical filled energy drink to get pumped up for your workout.

Everyone needs a little boosts once in while, but downing a Monster or Rockstar before you hit the gym is definitely a giant workout Oops! If your fitness goal is to get lean and cut, these sugar filled cans of mystery will sabotage all your hard work! Vault Soda energy drink has 78g of sugar, Rockstar has 60, Monster has about 50! To put this in perspective, a snickers bar has 30g of sugar, and a bag of skittles as 47g of sugar! Would you eat a snickers and bag of skittles to get a little extra energy before a workout?! Never, its so counter-productive. The best pre-workout energy booster is by far, SCI-FIT DARK ENERGY! It has ZERO grams of sugar and carbs, plus improves focus, motivation, endurance and strength, with a revolutionary rapid absorption and pH stability!
So don’t make excuses, make improvements. Fix your workout mistakes and start achieving the health and fitness goals you’ve always wanted!