10 Workout Mistakes To Avoid To Get Results

These are some common workout mistakes I see people doing in the gym, and I have done in the past when I didn’t have the knowledge I have now.

It can be demotivating to work hard without seeing results, there might just be little things you have to fix in your workout routine to change that. Avoid these workout mistakes if you want to make the most out of your training, and really start seeing results.

Workout mistake number 1: Skip the warm up and dynamic stretches

Preparing your body and mind for your workout ahead is a real game changer and prevents injuries. There are two main parts of the warm up you should not be missing.

The first part is a quick cardio warm up to get your blood flowing, warming up your muscles, and increasing the synovial fluid in your joints.

The second part of the warm up, I never did before becoming a personal trainer, is dynamic stretching. This is a real game changer as it activates your muscles and improves your range of motion and effectiveness of the exercises of the main workout. Make sure you add dynamic stretches to target the all the muscles you are using during the main workout.

You can also add some muscle activation exercises, for example on leg day, add some kick back or glute bridges to activate and recruit your glute muscles, before starting your main workout.

Exercise mistake number 2: Only do cardio

I see this a lot in the gym, and the main reason why people only do cardio is because they are not confident using weight, or, especially females, believe cardio is the only exercise for weight loss.

The truth is resistance training is the best type of training for most goals, including weight loss. If you are unsure on how to use the gym equipment and what intensity you should work at it is worth talking to a personal trainer, as it is going to be a game changer for your body and workout results!

Still add the right amount of cardio into your workout routine, as it is beneficial for mental health and the cardio respiratory system. This could be 1 or 2 HIIT sessions per week, and/or daily 10000 steps, on top of your workouts.

Mistake number 3: You don’t follow a workout plan

For years, I have been going to the gym without following a plan. I was getting great results at the beginning, as I was new to weight training and my body reacted to it quickly. But after a while, I realised I was lifting the same weights and doing the same exercises without being able to improve further, and without seeing further results.

I then started writing workout plans and applying progressive overload, which has lead to me lifting heavier, increasing my strength and seeing results again.

I would recommend planning your workouts in advance, and switch them up every 3-4 weeks, and take notes during your sessions so you can apply progressive overload accordingly.

Workout mistake number 4: Thinking you can get results without adapting your nutrition habits to the workout plan and goals

You could workout as much as you want, but if your diet is not adapted to your training plan and results you are not going to get results.

Nutrition and fitness go hand in hand, you can lose weight without exercising, but you can’t lose weight without being on a calorie deficit. It is also going to be difficult to gain muscle without eating the right amount of calories and macronutrients!

Mistake number 5: Lift the same weights for a long period of time

If you are lifting the same weights you were lifting a few months ago you are doing something wrong. Don’t make the workout mistake to lift the same weights all the time.

Exercise is a form of stress for your body, which means your body reacts to it and adapts to it. While a certain weight might bring results for 3-4 weeks, it won’t if you keep lifting the same for months and months as your body gets used to it, and needs some further challenge to improve further.

Of course increasing the weight is not possible every single session so you need to find different ways to increase the intensity, that will then lead to being able to lift heavier in the future. For example by increasing repetitions, time under tension, using advanced training techniques,..

Mistake number 6: You don’t understand rest times between workouts

One of the common workout mistakes is to overtrain or to not train frequently enough. Choosing the right workout split and days to workout is essential to get results and ensure your training is effective.

Doing a workout only once a week is probably not going to lead to much, as it is not enough. Each muscle group should be targeted at least 2 times x week and every 3-4 days for it to be stimulated to grow.

Doing a full body workout daily, is also sabotaging your results, as you don’t allow the body to rest, recover and give the muscles time to repair. This would just lead into a lot of effort wasted, and possibly fatigue, demotivation, and possible injuries.

Workout mistake number 7: Lift heavy with incorrect form

Always put technique and form before the amount of weight used. You need to be able to complete your repetitions and sets with correct form, before you can increase the weight used. Lifting with an incorrect form is not going to target the muscles you were trying to target, which will lead to no results or even injuries.

For example, a simple exercise a lot of people perform with wrong technique is bicep curls, swinging the weights and body, instead of only moving the lower part of the arm, which is when you are really using the biceps.

Mistake number 8: Follow an incorrect exercise order

There should be an order to the exercises in your main workout to follow. While you can slightly move the order if the equipment you are looking for is busy, try to stick to the correct order.

Here’s some simple rules to follow when it comes to exercise order, to avoid making this workout mistake:

Train the biggest muscles first, then the smaller muscles.

Train your core last, as you need core stability for most other exercises, targeting your core first can lead to not being able to perform other exercises at the intensity you want to.

If you are doing cardio and resistance training in the same session, do the cardio after the resistance training to ensure maximal performance during your session.

Workout mistake number 9: You don’t stretch at the end of the workout

Number 9 of the list of workout mistakes is to skip stretching at the end of the workout.

Avoid this mistake if you don’t want to delay you muscular recovery, and decrease your flexibility over time, which will make your future workouts less effective as you will have a smaller range of motion when performing exercises if you are less flexible, which means you are not working as hard as you could in the past.

As you have put your body under stress during your workout, stretching is also a moment to relax and destress, after exercise.

Make sure you stretch each muscle you have targeted in the main session for at least 10 seconds for recovery, and 30 seconds if you want to increase flexibility over time.

Mistake number 10: Giving up too soon, and rushing results

When setting your fitness goals, you must give yourself enough time to achieve them, and ultimately the goal should be to make exercise a consistent part of your lifestyle in the long term.

Do not set unrealistic and extreme goals to start with, as not achieving them would lead to demotivation and quitting. Regularly check in to see the results of your workout routine, celebrate the small improvements, adjust and improve the workout plan as you go.

Work with a specialist to set realistic and healthy goals, and to make your plan specific to the results you want to get.

Conclusion

10 workout mistakes you must avoid to get results in the gym:

1. Skip the warm up and dynamic stretches
2. Only do cardio
3. You don’t follow a workout plan
4. Thinking you can get results without adapting your nutrition habits to the workout plan and goals
5. Lift the same weights for a long period of time
6. You don’t understand rest times between workouts
7. Lift heavy with incorrect form
8. Follow an incorrect exercise order
9. You don’t stretch at the end of the workout
10. Giving up too soon, and rushing results