Fitness
Fitness mistakes are made frequently, both with at home training and gym training. Gyms are a great place to meet new people and experiment with new fitness training techniques.
The most important thing, when hitting the gym is to make sure you are secure in the exercises you’re doing. Stick to machines if you’re a beginner because you are less likely to be injured by form mistakes.
Here are 5 common mistakes people make at the gym.
Heart Smart Minute Fitness Tip #1
Not Stretching: Stretching is an absolute must to help avoid injuries, stretch your muscles before starting your workout and immediately after. Muscles stretch better when they’re warm–so get a long final stretch in after doing your Heart Smart Minute fitness routine.
Heart Smart Minute FItness Tip #2
Lifting Too Much: This is a huge mistake–it’s not how much you lift, it’s how well your form is while you’re lifting. Form is more important than the weight. Keep your form strong and lighten up the weight. Increase repetitions for a great burn or try a drop set.
Heart Smart Minute Fitness Tip #3
Leaning Heavily on the Stair Master: Leaning on the Stair Master puts extra stress on your back and wrists while reducing the stress on your quads and butt Keep proper posture by standing upright and lightly holding on to the machine. Let your butt and quads do the work–that’s the whole point of the machine!
Heart Smart Minute Fitness Tip #4
Jerking while Lifting Weights: Jerking while weight lifting puts unnecessary stress on other muscle groups, especially your back. Make sure you’re lifting a weight you can control and use slow reps to really feel the burn.
Heart Smart Minute FItness Tip #5
Eating Energy Bars or Smoothies: Unless you’re doing a 2hr high intensity workout, you don’t need to supplement with these foods. They are extremely high in calories and sugar, you want to burn calories while at the gym, not gain them.
