Workout Mistakes Are More Common Than You Think: Staying Safe On Your Fitness Journey

Fitness journeys are these long, healthy pathways that everyone has a good time on - right? Of course, it takes time and commitment, but when you want to get fit, you set yourself off on a road trip toward health and wellness. In a dream world, the moment you commit to a fitness journey, that’s how it would work out! However, it's common to make workout mistakes along the way. 

Some are minor and can only throw you off momentarily, but some are a lot more serious and can send you right back to square one. 

And when you go on your own fitness journey, the former are the only mistakes you really want to make! So let’s try and make sure of it; here are some fitness tips you’ll want to keep in mind as you go.

Try Not to Be Overconfident

Overconfidence is the fitness journey killer. When you start out on top of the world, feeling amazing about your new wellness habits, and like you’ve got all the adrenaline and time to put in, you’re going to come crashing down pretty hard. 

Overconfidence can make a newbie gym-goer unlikely to ever hit the gym again. And when you fail like this, you’re far less motivated to keep going. You might even be in pain, and genuinely feel like you can’t keep working out.

After all, when you’re overconfident, you’re going to hurt yourself. 

You’re going to injure yourself because you thought you could lift a heavier set than your body was ready for. You could also easily overstrain your muscles when out on a run because you immediately went for a 10k+ route. 

You can’t immediately jump into fitness like this. The idea that you can is going to prevent you from ever getting anywhere.

Also READ - The Mistakes That Make Your New Fitness Journey Far Harder

Start Slow to Avoid Early Workout Mistakes

That’s the main thing. You need to start off slowly and try to maintain that pace. You need to find your ‘zone’, get into it, and only then branch out from there. 

And most of all, your body needs time to actually train for the fitness feats you imagine you’re already capable of!

Work your way up

Once you’ve hit your stride and you feel like you’re ready for something new, work up from there. Don’t go from 1 to 5 straight away. Go up to 2 first, then 3, and so on. 

You can’t skip a step, no matter how much you want to or how fit you think you are. Take your time and progress as you’re really meant to.

Make Time for Warm Ups and Cool Downs

They’re so much more crucial than many people like to think! And sure, they might sound like a waste of time when you’ve only got a spare half hour to fit a workout in. 

But a warm up AND a cool down will save your muscles for another day. And yes, that

includes your heart! 

How long should a warm up be?

Most people recommend 10 minutes of warm-up activities as the most suitable amount for any exercise routine, as this helps prevent common workout mistakes like muscle strain and poor performance. You can always try a bit of a longer warm up, at around 15 minutes, if you want to take your time stretching though.

How long should a cool down be?

Again, a cool down should be around 10 minutes long. But seeing as you’re helping your heart rate go from 100 back down to a more stable, resting level, feel free to take twice that time. You don’t want to rush your cool down, whatever you do.

Considering Steroids? Understand the Side Effects

A lot of people go on a fitness journey, find they stall after a while, and want to help themself make gains again. It’s a very common predicament, and it’s also got a very common solution: trying out steroids. 

And if you do choose to do so, you’re going to need to be careful about the way you use them. You can buy Anavar online if you want, and use it as part of your fitness regime (as recommended by the manufacturer), but make sure you keep an eye out for potential side effects. 

If you notice any, you may need to contact your doctor for their opinion.

Also READ - Steroids: Are They Legal?

Ignoring Nutrition: One of the Biggest Workout Mistakes

You can’t change one without changing the other, no matter how much exercise you’ve started doing. 

The food you eat is the source of calories that give you energy, and you want to have some kind of control over the quality of the food you’re putting in your body. 

But don’t rush to throw out all the junk food in the house here. You’re only going to want to make tweaks to your diet for the time being.

Keep these changes small and subtle as you work on healthy eating, as there’s one major rule you’ll need to keep in mind:

Also READ - Pre-Workout Breakfast: Fueling Your Morning Workout

Don't make massive, sweeping changes!

When you do, you’re far more likely to ‘cheat’ on your diet, experience cravings, and have a much harder time finding any joy in the things you eat now. 

Take it slowly, once again, and make healthy substitutions here and there. For example, something like a protein bar instead of a normal chocolate bar. Or making your mac and cheese from scratch, rather than use a boxed version for dinner.

And whatever you do, try not to cut out an entire portion of the food pyramid in one go! 

Avoid Workout Mistakes on Your Fitness Journey

When you want to fully explore your own fitness journey, keep in mind that you might make mistakes. It’s OK to do so, but it’s also best to understand why, what really happened, and how to prevent it from happening again. 

And because of that, a bit of forward research doesn’t go amiss! All in all, keep the tips above in mind as you approach your own wellness. They can make a difference to your progress.