Trust me, I’ve been a beginner before and I’ve made many (too many) gym mistakes. Oh and I’ve embarrassed myself plenty too.
We all know how important it is to take care of our bodies, and maybe going to the gym is in your plan.
You want to get “toned” (what does that even mean?), strong, and feel like a total badass.
Only problem is the gym intimidates you. Well have no fear, I’m here to help you through it! Just know that we’ve all been there and it’s OKAY to be a beginner.
Let’s go over the common questions and mistakes people make at the gym:
You Don’t Eat Before
Let me just say that every person is different. If you are working out at 5 AM and you wake up at 4:30 AM, you’re probably not going to eat before and that’s okay! Just make sure you have a good meal the night before.
I think we all heard that eating before you workout can make you nauseous, which may be true if you’re doing cardio based workouts, but if you’re weight training, having fuel is so important.
At the beginning of my fitness journey I would get light headed during my workouts and wonder why. Well, it’s because I wasn’t eating enough.
The worst thing is when you are killing your workout one minute and then have to go home early because you’re seeing tunnel vision.
Here’s some ideas:
15-30 minutes before
If you are short on time and not used to eating before your workout, grabbing a fast-digesting carb is going to be your best friend.
Things like fresh fruit, bread, or a granola bar break down easily and become instant energy for you. They’re light enough you won’t feel sick during your workout and have just the right amount of sugar to push you through those heavy deadlifts.
1 hour before
If you have a little more time, aim to have a carb and protein source. Depending on the time of day (and you personally), you might still want a smaller meal.
Carbs: fruit, grains, oatmeal, rice, cereal, etc.
Protein: eggs, animal protein, tofu, etc.
I personally will have a protein smoothie with protein powder, banana, almond milk, and peanut butter. It’s quick to eat and has everything I need!
2+ hours before
I wouldn’t go more than 3 hours without eating something before a workout or you risk being light headed and hungry. Which I don’t know about you, but having a growling stomach at the gym is not my fav.
However, in the event you have 2-3 hours before your workout, I recommend just having a normal balanced meal. You’ll have enough time to digest and feel ready when you get to the gym.
Check out this post on what that might look like!
You Skip Your Warm Up
The days I would just go straight into lifting, I would find my joints creaky and get random pains. Well that’s because you can’t just waltz into a working set.
Warming up is important for not only preventing injury, but also getting your muscles active and ready to move weight effectively.
I’ll write a longer post on this, but here is a basic warm up for a leg workout:
- T Spine Reach Through
- Yogaplex
- Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch
- Squat to Stand
- Glute Bridge
- Jump Squat
As you notice, these are movements called dynamic stretching. We are moving through the warm up, NOT holding positions. This is much more effective before weight lifting for performance and preventing injuries.
You Only Do Cardio
There’s nothing wrong with cardio, but if you are trying to get “toned” you need to be lifting weights.
Doing hours of cardio doesn’t do much for strength and physique, although it does help with other things such as your endurance and cardiovascular health.
So if you enjoy doing it, keep doing it!
But just know that running is not going to get you developed glutes (lol I really thought that too).
My advice is to do weight training first, then finish with interval training or save your cardio for days you don’t weight train.
You Have Improper Form
I don’t know what it is, but for some reason we all think that weight training doesn’t have a learning curve.
Literally in high school I was just thrown into the weight room with NO instruction. I’m surprised I didn’t injure myself to be honest!
Please please PLEASE do not go blindly into the gym doing random movements and machines.
We live in a time where we have everything at the tip of our finger. There are a million demonstration videos online for every single exercise. USE THEM.
Firstly, we don’t want any injuries, but secondly if you’re going to the gym and putting in the work, make sure the movements are actually effective.
If you don’t want to watch videos on your own, hire a personal trainer to show you!
You Don’t Have A Plan
Most people I’ve seen at the gym just go in and kind of do whatever.
Which, if that’s what you like, go for it. I do it sometimes!
But if you’re working towards a goal, you need to have a plan. A structured program is going to ensure proper recovery, effective use of time, and actual results.
Just because you go in and do 100 glute bridges doesn’t mean you’re making changes.
Your body needs progressive stimuli to change. It’s not going to adapt if you’re doing the same workouts every single week.
Search up workout programs and stick to them for at least 4 weeks at the very minimum. Focus on progressing the weights, reps, sets, etc.
There are a ton of free plans online, or better yet, invest in a coach to write it for you!