We all make some fitness mistakes when we first start working out. I always tell my clients that they have to walk before they can run. Working out is a bit of a trial and error process about finding out a combination of what you enjoy, and how to actually do things the right way to get results safely.
Today, I am going to share with you the 5 biggest (and pretty common) fitness mistakes to avoid when you first start working out. Don’t be upset if you find yourself making these same fitness mistakes– today, we are going to learn! 😄
Fitness Mistake #1: Too Much Cardio
Probably one of the earliest fitness mistakes that you will make–too much cardio. You want to lose fat, so why not just sweat your butt off on cardio?
This is wrong.
I found myself doing hours upon hours of grueling cardio sessions and my body was just getting beaten down– not good. Cardio isn’t inherently bad, it’s actually pretty great! But as the old saying goes, too much of a good thing can be bad.
What I see is that people not only do TOO much cardio, but they also perform JUST cardio when they are in the gym.
There are a few situations where starting with JUST cardio can be okay:
- You just started working out and want to ease yourself into getting active; to prevent overwhelm.
- You have been extremely sedentary for at least a couple of months and find yourself stiff, immobile and weak.
- You just got out of major rehabilitative surgery or had a heart-related incident which limits you to some easy cardio for a bit.
As you can see, if you don’t fit into one of these categories or something similar, doing SOME cardio along with resistance training a few times per week will be the route to go!
Over time, if you performed JUST cardio, which likely leads to TOO MUCH of it, you will be a lean string bean with very little muscle mass.
Even track and long-distance runners perform strength training workouts regularly in their programming!
Doing just cardio, will also most likely lead to metabolic adaptations and you will find yourself at a plateau. This will force you to push for more and more time on the treadmill just to see results.
Related: 🎙 The Tea with Tina Podcast Episode: Everything You Need to Know About Cardio
The Solution: Everyone is different depending on their goals, but if you don’t have any SPECIFIC cardio goals, I suggest somewhere around 20-40 minutes of cardio, 2-4x/week is sufficient. Again, this can be adjusted based on preference and goals. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. Use that as a baseline to compare off of.
Fitness Mistake #2: Not Eating Enough
Diet is the hardest thing to get a grasp on. A lot of us are emotionally connected or attached to food, plus there are endless options out there on what to eat and how to eat it. That makes this one of the most difficult fitness mistakes to avoid.
It takes some experimenting and over time (read: months and years) to really tweak your dietary preferences to fit your nutritional needs. Even then, realize that your diet will change over your lifetime for a number of reasons! We are always changing and evolving.
Again, just like many newcomers, you think, “Well, I want to lose fat, so I am going to just start cutting out food!”
A good way to get a grasp on your diet is to TRACK your food intake. Seeing what and how much of something you put into your body allows you to adjust accordingly based on your goals and needs.
One possible scenario that personally happened to me is that you very well could not be eating enough for your current energy output, and this is why your results are not ideal.
Our body often compensates for our energy output with fatigue, more naps, less fidgeting, etc. That’s why when you eat more you will find yourself up and about, fidgeting more and just overall more energetic.
It really does, in the end, come down to calories in versus calories out. However, the way that the energy is balanced might just be trickier to find for some over others!
When you don’t eat enough, energy becomes low, your workouts suck, your daily performance sucks. You may be better off eating MORE crushing your workouts and powering through your day, and you still may find yourself in a deficit! This doesn’t mean go eating whatever you want when you want. It has to be in a controlled environment, or things get kind of messy.
A quick and basic step-by-step to get you started (This is a very simplistic version of how I do macro calculations for clients! The only difference in working with me is that you get support and guidance as well as meal suggestions!)
**NOTE: this model is generally for someone who is looking to lose body fat!
- Find out what your MAINTENANCE calories are. You can find this through many equations and calculators. The two that I trust are Precision Nutrition and Healthy Eating Macro Calculator.
- Track what you eat by keeping a food diary for a few days (at least 3).
- Tally up your food and see where your calories are at. If you are ABOVE calculated maintenance, you should CUT your calories for weight loss. Use the same macro calculators (Pick the “Lose 10%” option for the Healthy Eating Macro Calculator) to get a good cutting number.
- If you are BELOW maintenance calories, you are under-eating and need to take things back up to maintenance. This is essentially reverse dieting (if you feel uncomfortable going at this alone, I suggest turning to a coach to guide you through the process). If you hop straight to maintenance you can risk bloating, inflammation digestion issues and unnecessary weight gain. I recommend slowly adding in calories by 150-250 calories every 2-3 weeks. You may experience some weight gain at this time or you may stay the same. The important thing to remember is that you are bringing your body up to a healthier amount of daily calories. Once, you reach your maintenance this gives you a MUCH healthier and higher starting point to cut from so you don’t have to eat very low calories!
A note for the people who are cutting–stick with your numbers for AT LEAST 2 weeks before changing anything! If you keep making progress, no need to adjust your numbers! If it’s been 2 weeks and progress has stalled? It’s time to cut by only about 150-250 calories, adjust macros accordingly. The same general concept described here can be applied for bulking or weight gain, you would just be adding calories.
The Solution: Track your eating. This doesn’t have to be strict, just enough to get an idea of how much you eat daily. Use a reliable nutrition calculator to hit your goals. Make sure you are at a healthy eating point and work from there. Be consistent. Be patient. Results take time.
Fitness Mistake #3: Wasting Money on Supplements
The most expensive of these fitness mistakes–supplements. Nobody inherently needs to spend money on supplements, so if it’s not in your budget–focus on eating plenty of whole nutrient-dense foods. If you have a bit of money to spend, I would say the top 3 best supplements to get are:
- A Good Multi-Vitamin: One that fills your nutrient gaps that regular food doesn’t fill. You want a quality supplement so that all nutrients are absorbed and used efficiently. I recommend getting your supplements from Legion Athletics. They are science-backed and give you a detailed list of their clinically dosed ingredients. I have seen fantastic results with their women’s multi and praised all about it on my Instagram.
- Fish Oil: The reason I say fish oil is because many of us don’t eat enough fish (think: like every day) to get our daily dose of omega fatty acids. They help with our heart health and blood pressure, reduce inflammation and lubricate our joints to name just a few of the amazing benefits!
- Protein Supplement: Now this is obviously not a MUST, because you can certainly get enough protein from regular whole foods. However, I find a lot of people struggle to hit their daily protein goals while staying within their overall macros. Most protein supplements (powders, bars, cookies) have about 20-30 g of protein per serving which is great! Powders are the most cost-effective way to go because you can also cook with them. I personally grab bars or pre-mixed shakes because I like to eat whole foods versus drinking my calories!
Related: 🎙️ The Tea with Tina Podcast Episode | Macro Mini-Series: All About Protein
The Solution: Supplements are not essential for your journey, but they can enhance performance and get your results a bit quicker. If you have the money, invest in quality supplements that actually benefit you. If not, don’t sweat it!
Fitness Mistake #4: Doing Too Many Reps
When I first started out, I got a lot of my workout ideas from social media fitspos. Not the best idea. With these IG workouts are you moving, getting your heart rate up and burning calories? Yes!
Is it ideal to do these workouts long-term to build a body that you feel good in? Not exactly.
The more that I learned, the more I found out that simplicity and strength is the key to good workouts.
The book that really opened my eyes to this style of training was Thinner, Leaner, Stronger by Mike Matthews, the founder of Legion Athletics.
The Solution: Take a look at your workouts. Do they have structure with a goal in mind? Are you nailing the basics, and getting stronger? Are you using progressive overload? If not, time to do a workout audit!
Fitness Mistake #5: Not Taking Advantage of Rest Days
Arguably the most important of all of the fitness mistakes to NOT make–not getting enough REST! I recommend at least 2 rest days per week to allow for proper recovery and muscle rebuilding. If not, you are well on your way to burnout (hi, that happened to me MORE than once!).
I always said that you should rest just as hard as you train. What does that mean, exactly? Well, it means ACTUALLY resting on your rest day. No running around, burning yourself out. Now, I know that we don’t have the luxury of just chilling for a whole 24 hours, and all of us may not want to. So, some things that you can do:
- Take a relaxing Epsom salt bath; face mask optional 🙂
- Watch your favorite shows or sit down and read a good book.
- Keep stress low on your rest day; do some light stretching or walking.
- Get a massage.
- Eat plenty of nutrients and drink your water!
By the way, are you getting your 7-9 hours of GOOD sleep? That’s another crucial part of proper rest and recovery!
The Solution: Slow down and really take advantage of your rest days! Find what options work best for you and rest up to kill your workouts!
Thanks for taking the time to read this short novel of a blog post. I hope this information will help you to crush your goals and adjust your current routine in some way. And most importantly, avoid these fitness mistakes from now on.
I am a certified fitness trainer who has worked with hundreds of people over the past few years and have recently added an online training element to my coaching. If you like my blogs, you’ll LOVE my coaching! Be sure to check out my Programs if you are interested in a plan that WORKS!
