Workout Blunders: The Top 5 Mistakes to Watch Out For

To get the maximum benefit out of your workout, ensure that your form and posture is correct. Correct form would help tone and lengthen the muscles, and it would also protect them from injury. In fact, some poor postures and workout mistakes can be counterproductive and stressful for the joints and demand a visit to your orthopedic specialist. Here are some more common workout mistakes that can be easily avoided.

The right cardio:

Proper cardio is integral to fat loss—but you need to find the right amount for yourself. There would be no fat loss if you aren’t doing enough and, yet you will exhaust yourself if you do too much. The perfect fat loss zone with cardio is between 25 to 45 minutes. You cannot go wrong with fat loss if you are hitting between this.

Focus on weight training:

Excessive cardio is just going to “eat away” your muscles. To build a sleek and lean muscle tone, you should focus on weight training. Cardio like running, will put a strain on the joints and decrease the muscle tone. Therefore, don’t focus on running to lose weight, focus on replacing the fat with muscle to reap longer lasting benefits.

Sleep deprivation:

Not getting enough sleep can compromise your fitness goals. This is due to hormone changes that occur with sleep deprivation, stress, and inadequate muscle recovery. Without adequate sleep, you will exhaust yourself and your overall mood will be down.

Posture correction:

Only correct posture will work on the targeted muscle groups; otherwise, it will just strain the body. Here are some common mistakes in postures:

• Lunges:

Knee alignment is very important in lunges. If properly done, it will maximize the benefit and also protect the knee joint. A common mistake in lunges is to not align the knee and the ankle; in the correct form, the knee and the ankle should form a straight line.

• Plank:

Plank is a complete workout in itself—if correctly done. A common mistake when doing plank is not engaging the core and placing work in the shoulder blades instead. The correct form is to engage the core and chest muscles as if pushing away from the floor. Doing this will target the correct muscle group and prevent injury.

• Tabletop:

Many people tilt their hips or lift them during tabletop seat work—which is the incorrect position as it does not engage the abdominal muscles. Hips must be aligned horizontally and squared off in the correct form so that the abdominal muscles also work. This will also ensure that the lower back is not strained.

Rest and recovery of muscles:

After an intense workout, muscles need time to recover and rest. If there is no gap between intense workout sessions then there is a high chance of strain and injury. Moreover, the body needs time to replenish energy stores, balance electrolytes and rehydrate. Therefore, a post-exercise meal will help you build long, lean muscles and shorten the recovery time.

If you want professional help to attain your target weight, then you should consider going to a nutritionist. Book an appointment with a top orthopedician in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad through oladoc.com, or call our helpline at 042-3890-0939 for assistance to find the RIGHT professional for your concerns.