Dumb Mistakes You Might Be Making At The Gym
You learn from your mistakes, but nobody wants to make them when they first start at a new gym. It’s hard enough feeling self-conscious being the new person and pretty intimidating. Most people are focused on their workout and don’t notice, but not all errors are inconsequential. Some mistakes can affect how quickly you reach your goal or if you increase the potential for injury. Here are common mistakes and ways to correct them.
You push too hard and fail to learn the correct form.
There’s nothing wrong with pushing yourself unless your form is incorrect or your body isn’t ready for the beating. When you first start exercising in the gym, take it easy and focus on form. If your form is incorrect, you won’t get the best results. It can even cause injury. If you push too hard when you first begin or do intense workouts daily, you’ll also damage your body. You should only do intense workouts one or two days a week to give your body a chance to recover.
Are you spending the time necessary to warm up or cool down?
You need warm-up and cool-down exercises. Warm-up exercises mimic the type of workout you’ll do. They improve circulation, so you warm the muscles you’ll use. They increase your heart rate slowly, so it’s not as stressful. Warm-up exercises minimize injuries. Cool-down exercises help prevent blood from pooling in the extremities, which can cause fainting and light-headedness. Your muscles are loose and pliable, so it’s also a good time to do stretching that increases your range of motion.
Are you maximizing the time you spend in the gym?
Some people spend hours in the gym and don’t get as much done as people who spend 30 to 40 minutes. They spend too much time talking, hanging around the water fountain, and resting longer between exercises and sets. Have a list of exercises you’ll do. Include the number of reps and sets. Track your workout as you move quickly from one set to the next and one exercise to the next. Tracking your workout keeps you on pace to cut the time you spend, keeps your heart rate elevated, and burns more calories.
- Do you eat a pre-workout or post-workout snack? A 100 to 200-calorie snack containing protein and carbohydrates can improve your workout and jump-start recovery.
- You need cardio, but too much can tear down muscle tissue and compromise your ability to lose weight. Cardio doesn’t discriminate where it gets calories, so it takes it from fat and muscle tissue. Do all types of exercise: strength, balance, flexibility, and endurance.
- Change your workout frequently. Your body becomes efficient at a workout and burns fewer calories. Work your muscles on all planes and ensure you do all muscle groups.
- Outside the gym, make sure you get adequate sleep. Your body requires sleep to produce enough HGH, IGF, and testosterone that’s necessary to build muscles. It also repairs microtears in the muscles and keeps the hunger/satiety hormones balanced.
For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym
Whether you’re trying to lose weight or are searching for other health benefits, fasting may be right for you. There are various types of fasting. Your goal, physical health, and preference will determine the one you use. You can do water fasts, 5:2 fasts, intermittent fasts, and many other variations. A 5:2 fast is where you eat normally for five days and abstain from food or eat a severely calorie-restricted diet for two days. You can do intermittent fasting in several ways, too. One of the most popular methods is to eat during an eight-hour window and fast the other sixteen hours.
People in Houston, TX often put exercise on their schedule to ensure they do it daily. Not only is it easier when it’s considered an appointment but doing it at the same time daily also makes it a habit. It helps ensure the potential for success and consistency. You won’t lose weight if you only eat donuts and one salad occasionally. The same is true for getting fit. You have to be consistent to see the changes you desire. It often takes weeks to see changes, but you’ll feel the difference quicker than that.
If you’re one of the millions of people who take fish oil, you probably take it for a specific ailment. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids that can improve heart and brain health. The body requires omega-3 to function properly, but it cannot produce it, so it must come from food. It can aid in treating conditions such as depression, asthma, some autoimmune diseases, ADHA, and rheumatoid arthritis. A study at one of the most dangerous prisons in the UK found that increasing omega-3 and providing a nutrient-dense diet significantly reduced violent acts.
There are a lot of food fads that circulate in Houston, TX, and not all of them are healthy. Luckily, the latest fad of using chia seeds in recipes is different. These tiny seeds are power-packed and ready to provide not only health benefits but also some benefits for your recipes. Using chia seeds in food isn’t new. It was a mainstay of the Mayan and Aztec diet. These tiny seeds may not look impressive but when you include them regularly in your diet, you’ll get impressive results.
Occasionally eating a small slice of cake or pie won’t affect your weight loss program much. However, if you eat an entire pie or cake and do it every day, you won’t lose weight. Portion control plays a vital role in weight loss. Portion control is more important for some foods than it is for others. For instance, you can eat as many leafy green vegetables as you want without worry but need to watch portions when consuming higher-calorie foods, even if they are fruit or vegetables. Avocados are one example and nuts are another where portion control makes a difference.
Many recent studies show that gut health makes weight loss easier. The microbiome in the gut impacts your gut health directly. There are millions of them and a variety of species. They include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microscopic organisms. They dramatically affect all functions in the body, including gut health. While there are debates on the number of microbes in the body, Scientists agree there are more microbes than cells in our body.
Do you have dreams of eating cakes and pastries and never gaining weight? The truth is, you can’t. However, there is food you can have in an unlimited amount. Some foods are lower in calories, while others have a thermogenic effect. When your body digests food, it takes extra energy. Some types of food require more energy to digest than others. Food like celery is already low in calories and when you factor in the thermogenic effect, it is even lower and may be negative calories.
At Rising Fitness, we use a holistic approach to good health. The body requires exercise but also needs a healthy diet to reduce the risk of disease. A healthy diet contains many components, including macronutrients, micronutrients, and phytonutrients. Macronutrients include protein, fat, and carbohydrates, while micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. Phytonutrients are substances found in plants that improve the functioning of the body.
National Avocado Day will be here soon. The celebration on July 31 gives an opportunity to discover new ways to reap the health benefits of avocados. Most people in Houston, TX, immediately think of guacamole when they hear the word avocado, but there are hundreds of ways to include them in your meals. Mashed and spread on toast, they make a creamy, delicious alternative to butter or other spread. Avocados are a healthy addition to salads, tacos, and salsa, and even mixed with goat cheese for avocado cheese truffles. Here are some reasons to search for avocado recipes to celebrate this healthy treasure.