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We all dream of health and a beautiful figure. We all would also like to achieve both with the least amount of work and effort, in short - as quickly as possible. The effect? We make mistakes during training, especially if we start working out for the first time in our lives or after a long break. Today we will deal with the most common ones, which can lead to serious consequences.
Body posture
Few of us demonstrate high body awareness. During the day, we slouch, tense our necks and shoulders, place our feet carelessly, and do not listen to our breathing and heart rate. We often present the same posture in the gym or at home, when we exercise on our own. While walking with a bowed head for most of our lives gradually leads to serious spine problems, year after year, intensive training with poor posture can end in an immediate and painful injury.
Regardless of whether you exercise with additional weight or rely on your own weight, make sure that your back is straight, your abdomen is tense, and your kneecaps are pulled up. In standing exercises, stand firmly, evenly, and consciously on straight legs, tense your thighs and buttocks, and control every movement. In lying exercises, stretch your entire body, perform even movements, and tense your core. In positions such as planks, make sure that your entire body is tense and do not arch your lumbar spine. When exercising on a multi-gym and many machines that isolate individual muscles, read the user manual carefully, and if in doubt, talk to trainers or other, more experienced exercisers.
Watch your posture in the mirror – mirrors in gyms are for this very purpose. Any exercise performed incorrectly, crookedly, too fast or too slow, or in the wrong axis, will not only be ineffective – it can harm you. One more note: do you remember Johnny Bravo? If you don't want to look like him, train your whole body, not just your chest. Even muscle tissue growth develops our body healthily and naturally and does not burden the spine. Remember your legs, buttocks, stomach, back and also watch your flexibility. Muscles like to contract, but after each session they also need the opposite movement – stretching.
Before, during and after
If you do strength training, you may forget to drink. Those who start with a solid cardio session or prefer HIIT or cross-fit training will definitely not forget to hydrate – increased blood pressure and lack of breath immediately tell them to reach for a bottle of water. Regardless of the type of training, your body needs electrolytes. If you exercise occasionally or "so as not to sweat", plain mineral water will be enough. However, if you train regularly or really intensively, and also when you like training in the summer, you need something more. Special isotonic drinks will allow you to quickly quench your thirst and get back to the session. We also recommend specialist preparations with electrolytes, which quickly dissolve in water and allow you to quickly conjure up a nutritious fluid anywhere and anytime – a glass of water is enough, even from the tap (in most of Poland, so-called "tap water" is safe to drink without boiling). Replenish your electrolyte levels regularly: before, after and during the training session.
Rate
We want results here and now. How do you recognize a novice athlete? After entering the gym, they grab a barbell and start jerking and yanking it, then jump onto any machine and repeat a series of nervous movements without rhyme or reason. There is no training without proper preparation of the body. We need to wake it up, supply blood, and get the joints, tendons and muscles moving. We need to give the body a signal that the fun is about to begin. If during training, in addition to building the body, we also plan to lose a few kilos, a good warm-up is even more important. Let's raise the heart rate, boost the metabolism, and the burning of fat tissue will start after just 20 minutes of movement.
Another classic: a workout after a long break. Have we lost a month or half a year? We hit the gym and opt for the turbo option. We want to make up for time, work up a sweat and tighten the screws so that we can immediately jump into the shape of our lives. It simply can't be done that way. Too many repetitions, too high a load, too many circuits - all these mistakes usually lead to injuries, and in the best case, to such "acidification" of the muscles that will effectively discourage us from exercising for a few weeks. Instead of turbo burning, we will achieve turbo burnout.
There is also the opposite option – minimal training. You probably know people who come to a fitness club dressed in their best clothes, with make-up, perfumed and focused on capturing the coolest selfie. When you exercise to look good during training, and not in two months, don't count on results. Training is hard work, sweat, fighting with yourself and full focus on movement. You can't think about elegant repetitions and hairstyle at the same time. You can't sculpt your body without leaving gallons of sweat behind. The number of repetitions and circuits should be adjusted to your form and goal, but if your goal is to leave after training fresh as Mentos, forget it. You can just as well take a selfie on a walk, for free.
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