6 Common Mistakes Women Make in the Gym
Most women undergoing gym workouts want to look and feel good. Their desire to achieve their goals makes them passionate in the gym. However, with misinformation, many women also commit mistakes while working out. Some of them are merely following popular advice and tips from under qualified trainers, as well as what they read on the Internet. As a result, there’s little or no progress happening.
Mistakes are part of the learning curve. You learn from them, and you become better. With most women being unaware that they are doing wrong in the gym, we listed out six common mistakes to help everyone in their fitness journey. By knowing these, you can stay away from them and improve your overall health and performance.
Avoiding Resistance Training.
Resistance training or strength training helps you build muscle mass. It makes your body stronger, and it follows a long-term plan to reach your goal. However, many women equate resistance training to getting bulky. That’s why they tend to avoid this training, fearing that they would become too bulky and look like a man.
First, you will only look like a man when you have a large calorie intake and when you take exogenous testosterone. Second, resistance training will not make you a hulk. It will only enhance your bone density and muscle densities and make your body stronger.
Using Fewer Weights.
Weight training refers to working out using weights to become fit and improve general health. But it doesn’t require a long-term plan like that of resistance training.
Although men are considered to have more capacity in picking up weights than women, it doesn’t mean that you can’t pick up heavy weights. A weight includes free weight movement, such as barbells and dumbbells. With consistent training, you will soon find yourself improving your capacity and getting stronger. Also, weight training won’t make you too bulky.
Doing Too Much Cardio.
Having too much cardio won’t instantly tone you up. While cardio routines are beneficial in improving your blood flow and decreasing your risk of heart diseases, they won’t shape your body the way you want it.
Cardio exercise does burn fats as they increase your metabolism. But to achieve that toned body, you need to increase your lean muscle mass. This means that running and kickboxing alone won’t make you look better. You should also have resistance training to develop your lean muscles and make you look more toned up.
Training Every Day.
Working out seven times a week in a Wetherill Park gym to make the training more effective is misinformation. It’s never true. Although those who made a career in working out will do this kind of training, it doesn’t mean that you have to do the same to achieve a fit body.
In reality, 2-3 times of strength training can already make a difference in the way you look and feel. When working out, you should focus on progress, not on perfection. If you would train too frequently, overtraining may cause you stress, exhaustion, fatigue and even injury. Instead of building muscles, your muscles might break down.
Skipping Protein Drinks.
Your body should be refuelled after working out. This is the reason why most men can be seen drinking protein shakes or drinks after their sessions. These drinks replenish and rebuild the muscles in the body.
Most women tend to pay little attention to this after-workout habit. Some may have no knowledge about this and think that working out is over once they leave the gym. Others may just be too occupied with getting back to their house chores and other responsibilities. However, you have to make sure that the same importance you’re giving to your training should be given to your nutrition and recovery.
Not Warming Up and Cooling Down Properly.
This is not just a mistake by most women but also by men. When in the gym, many will go straight to the machine or any equipment they plan on using and skip a thorough warm-up.
A warm-up gets your body ready for the workout. It increases your blood flow to the muscles, enhances the mind-muscle connection and improves body awareness. Stretching before a workout can also lessen the risk of injuries and decrease muscle soreness. On the other hand, cooling down helps your muscles to relax and be restored after intense physical activity.
If you’re not seeing results after spending too much time in the gym, pause and check if you’re doing any of these mistakes in your routine. Do not quit yet. Find out what’s wrong and keep on grinding again.