Whether you’re new to exercise or trying to get back in shape, reaching your fitness goals takes time and commitment. Going from being inactive to consistently exercising can be challenging at first, but with proper planning, you can be a fit and active person who is reaping the benefits of regular exercise. However, there are things you can do to make your journey less fun and take longer. So, let’s look at some mistakes you could make when trying to get in shape and what you can do to avoid them.
Doing Too Much Too Fast
When you’re ready to get moving, your motivation and determination can exceed your body’s capabilities. Although going from nothing to running a 5K may be possible, it is more likely to lead to disappointment and injury. You get kudos for showing up and wanting to go. However, you should start slowly and add more over time.
For example, you may want to run that 5K as fast as possible. Instead of bolting into a run, try a slow jog or a combination of walking and running. Perhaps 5K is too far at your current fitness level. If so, try a shorter distance, like 1 mile. When your workouts start feeling easier at a particular distance or speed, increase your distance or pick up the pace.
It’s easy to push yourself too far when trying to get in shape. If you change too many things at once, it may be hard to tell what’s working best for you, or worse, it could lead to an injury. In short, start slow, increase your workload over time, and be patient with yourself.
Not Doing Enough
Exercise is work, and it can be hard on your body. However, working out is okay if you feel sore from your last workout. In fact, you should get sore from time to time since that means you’re working your muscles.
When you’re trying to get in shape, it can be challenging to exercise enough. Therefore, you may go easy on yourself or take too many days off in between. As a result, you won’t make any real gains toward your fitness goals.
Instead, you can use a fitness tracker, the talk test, or the RPE scale to determine how hard you’re exercising. Your heart rate is an excellent indicator of how hard your body is working. Aim to exercise at a moderate intensity for most of your workouts.
Focusing Only On One Exercise
You may discover that walking, running, cycling, yoga, or another activity is your thing and that you love doing it as much as possible. However, doing the same thing all the time can lead to plateauing in your progress, boredom, or an overuse injury.
To get in shape with a well-rounded routine, you should include activities that target strength, flexibility, and cardio. This will engage different muscle groups, which can reduce the risk of an overuse injury. It will also mix things up to keep your workouts fresh.
Changing Your Lifestyle Radically
A common knee-jerk reaction to getting in shape involves significantly changing one’s lifestyle. For example, if you want to lose weight, you may eliminate certain foods and change your eating behaviors. However, this only will cause you to crave those foods you miss. Instead, you make small changes like reducing the amount of soda you drink or limiting portions of your favorite foods. These gradual changes will still let you enjoy your favorite foods but introduce change over time, thereby increasing your chance of success.
Other behaviors, like getting more sleep, are another challenge. Changing your sleeping pattern involves changing your bedtime routine. This may involve gradually changing the time you go to sleep over the course of days or weeks. It may also include changing habits like scrolling on your phone, playing games, or watching movies.
Doing Exercises That You Don’t Enjoy
When trying to get into shape, it’s common to push yourself to do exercises that build the most muscle and burn the most calories. This is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, once your initial motivation and determination wear off, you’ll quickly start loathing your workouts.
If you don’t like lifting weights or running, don’t do it. Instead, find exercises you enjoy. As a result, you are more likely to stick with it. If you can form a habit of working out most days of the week for at least 30 to 45 minutes and eat a reasonable diet, you’ll improve your strength and endurance and move closer to your ideal weight as consolation prizes.
Spending Too Much Money
You may think signing up at a premier gym, buying a fitness tracker or new workout clothes, or making a home gym with a weight set or treadmill will motivate you to exercise. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work in almost all cases except for a very small number of people.
Instead, try to get into a regular exercise routine first, then buy clothing, equipment, gear, or a gym membership as needed. In fact, there are a lot of things you can do for free, like going for a run, practicing yoga, and doing body-weight exercises without spending any money. If you regularly exercise and can benefit from new gear or a gym membership, then that’s the time to consider spending money.
Expecting Quick Results
Contrary to what the fitness industry says, there are no quick fixes. Getting in shape, achieving your ideal weight, or running a marathon isn’t something that happens overnight. It takes consistency over weeks or months before you’ll notice some progress. It’s human nature to want a quick fix. However, it will take time to reach your goals.
Your goal to get in shape is something to strive for. Yet, do you know exactly how you will achieve it? Goals will fall short or fail without a well-thought-out plan. SMART goals are a framework that can help you make your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. By taking the time to create SMART goals, you’ll increase your chances of success.
Worrying About What Other People Think
If you’re uncomfortable with how you feel about your body, you may think people judge you when you’re exercising. Fortunately, almost everyone you see at the gym, around the neighborhood, or on a trail doesn’t care about what you’re doing. In fact, a few of us will look at you and think you’re awesome for making a change to improve your quality of life.
Don’t be afraid to get out there and make a change. If you stay consistent, you won’t be the same person. You’ll be someone getting into the best shape of their life and ready to tackle the next challenge.
Worrying About What’s Optimal
You don’t need to worry about the optimal number of reps, the best time to workout, the perfect schedule, or the diet to get the greatest bang for your exercise buck. Those details only matter for elite athletes who compete. Trying always to do what’s optimal will only lead to frustration, which increases your chances of giving up.
Instead, focus on consistently exercising most days of the week. The fact that you’re exercising is improving your health and moving you closer to your fitness goals. So go ahead and put on your comfortable sneakers, roll out your mat wherever you want, or hop on a bike and start peddling. You’re making progress. Even if you can only do 10 minutes, that is more than 0.
Ignoring Your Body’s Signals
Inevitably, you may feel tired, perhaps some muscles are tight, or that you may be catching a cold. But you’re tough and can push through it, right? Wrong. Ignoring your body’s signals to let you know you may be overdoing it or need a rest day will only lead to illness and injury. Instead, learn how your body reacts to exercise, and if it tells you to take a day off to recover, you should listen.
Sleep and balanced nutritious meals are critical to helping you recover from exercise. Besides, one or two days off to recover will not erase all your hard work. That’s certainly better than the alternative, which can force you to stop exercising until you heal.
Having An All-Or-Nothing Mindset
Although streaks, leaderboards, and badges can be motivating, it’s not over if you miss a day or drop into last place in your friend’s group. Missing a workout or indulging in your favorite treat doesn’t mean you’ve derailed your progress, and it certainly doesn’t mean you should give up.
Instead, focus on working out consistently. Also, don’t make your journey of getting in shape all about exercising. It’s essential to look after your mental health by engaging in stress-relieving activities such as yoga, meditation, or hobbies. Mental health is also critical to your overall fitness.
Not Tracking Your Progress
Unfortunately, you can’t remember everything related to your fitness goals. So, you’ll need to track yourself to know if you’re making progress. You can use a notebook, a fitness tracker, or an app to keep track of your workouts. Then, you can routinely review how you’re doing and make more informed decisions on your health and well-being.
Tracking your progress can give you a birdseye view of all your efforts. Not only will you see your progress, but you may also see early indicators of trouble, which will let you adjust yourself sooner rather than later. Tracking your progress lets you know if you’re moving in the right direction. You may even learn what works and doesn’t work for you, which can help you achieve future goals more quickly.
The Takeaway
Getting in or back into shape is a marathon, not a sprint. It will take time and effort to get there. You will improve your fitness by taking it slow, prioritizing consistency, eating balanced meals, and setting SMART goals. However, once you reach your goal, don’t stop. Maintaining your overall health and fitness is a life-long activity. If you can keep exercising as you age, you can help maintain your overall well-being and quality of life.
FitTrend’s mission is to help you along your self-improvement journey, promote an active lifestyle, and help you achieve your goals. Our journal can help you track your workouts, weight, mood, calories, and more. Also, FitTrend allows you to connect supported gadgets to your account to make it easier for you to update your journal automatically. Create your account today and start using FitTrend for free!
Disclaimer: No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
