What do I wish a fitness professional told me earlier in my career? What mistakes did I make in fitness that I don’t want you to make? Sharing my top 5 experiences (and how to avoid them):
Mistake 1: Forcing full intensity workouts, even when tired.
Do instead: Decrease the intensity, while still honoring the time you have carved out for your workout. This might mean simply walking or stretching instead.
Mistake 2: Following a nutrition coach’s advice to take out foods without offering a replacement.
Do instead: If you take foods out, ask what will replace them so you don’t feel ravenously hungry.
Mistake 3: Getting muscle cramps from not enough water.
Do instead: You generally need at least half your body weight in ounces as a starting point. For example, if you weigh 200 lbs, you need 100 oz of water or more each day. Find a water bottle and measure its ounces. Calculate how many times you need to refill it to get your minimum water for the day.
Mistake 4: Thinking that cardio and crunches would lead to 6 pack abs.
Do instead: Focus on minimally processed foods from each food group, and build up to heavy resistance training (unless you are a competitive endurance athlete).
Mistake 5: Doing the same types of workouts each day.
Do instead: The body needs variety to make progress in weight loss, toning, strength, or performance goals. While your month to month programs should follow a planned progression, your weekly workouts need variety. Be sure to include cardio, strength, and mobility work every week.
Need inspiration? Here’s my weekly split:
- Monday: Legs
- Tuesday: Chest/triceps
- Wednesday: Legs
- Thursday: Back/biceps
- Friday: Barre or yoga
- Saturday: Obstacle course racing
- Sunday: off
I hope that these mistakes and alternatives help you audit your fitness journey too. I love hearing from you, so please email or reach out on IG or Facebook with questions that I can help you with!
