Are you exercising with diligence and feeling a little disappointed with your lack of progress? Here are 5 bad habits that could be culprit for you not reaching the levels of awesomeness that you’re working towards!
1. Not stretching
Think about what happens to your muscles during exercise: working with resistance makes them contract (shorten), so it makes sense that you should gently guide muscles back to their natural state and encourage lengthening them with some stretches.
Stretching increases blood flow and circulation, and sends oxygen to your brain for a better mood and clarity.
Supple muscles are also less likely to tear; this means you’re minimising the risk of injury, assisting the recovery process (which can help you bounce back quicker between sessions) and creating a nicer-shaped physique.
2. Poor form
Training with terrible form is not only dangerous, but it’s very unproductive.
If your form is sloppy, there are risks of injury or the target muscles groups not being recruited properly.
If you are struggling to lift a certain weight with correct form, lower it and practice getting this right before you increase the load.
The same goes with any other exercises including cardio focused ones.
3. Overtraining
Finding the correct balance between under and overtraining is paramount.
Missing workouts and playing catch up is not as productive as maintaining consistency.
Apply a sensible routine that is sustainable and focused, and give your best with each workout.
Overtraining can lead to burnout very quickly.
4. Staying in your comfort zone
It’s very easy to get stuck in a comfortable workout rut.
When you are not pushing yourself and making your workouts intense, there are far less amount of calories being burned, less opportunity for your muscles to get stronger and less after-burn.
Also read: How to Burn More Calories with Afterburn
5. Not taking rest days
Rest days should be treated with the same level of importance as training.
Pay attention to enough rest being scheduled into your week and give yourself the opportunity to recharge properly.
When you rest, you are allowing so many cool things to take place, such as muscle growth and repair, immune system balancing, reduced risk of injury, better quality sleep and lowering the risk of burnout.
