4 Common Exercise Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

By Published On: April 2nd, 2024

Exercise is an important factor for a well-rounded and healthy lifestyle. But sometimes even with the best intentions, common exercise mistakes can hold you back and even increase your risk of injury. Here are four of the most common exercise mistakes and what to keep in mind. Whether you’re a beginner, a seasoned gym-goer or training at home on your own, all of these factors should be considered to exercise correctly and avoid setbacks.

1. Skipping Your Warm-up

We get it – you can’t wait to start exercising. But diving straight into your workout isn’t doing you any favours. To exercise correctly, you must begin your session with a proper warm-up to increase circulation to your muscles and prepare your body for the session ahead. How to avoid this: Spend 5 – 10 minutes doing some light cardio and dynamic stretches to warm the muscles up and start increasing your heart rate.

2. Improper Form

This is a topic that a biokineticist could discuss all day, but we will try keep it short. Performing exercises with poor technique not only reduces that effectiveness of your workout but also increases your risk of injury. How to avoid this: The classic saying goes, “Quality over quantity.” To fix this common exercise mistake, focus on mastering the technique of all the movements before worrying about the amount of weight you lifting or the intensity. Need more help with this? Well, you know where to find us.

3. Overtraining

Got your form all sorted? Increased your weights? But suddenly, you’re not seeing any improvements and feeling burned out and fatigued? Well, this is what we call overtraining, a common mistake that can lead to injury. More isn’t always everything. How to avoid this: Allow your body time to recover. Listen to your body and include rest days in your training schedule. Adjust your workouts if your body is feeling fatigued to prevent burnout or injury.

4. Neglecting your Recovery

Continuing from the previous point, recovery is just as important as your workout. Without adequate recovery time your muscles don’t have time to heal and to strengthen. How to avoid this: Make recovery a priority. Keep hydrated and well nourished. Make sure you include stretching, active recovery and foam rolling into your rest days.

By keeping these exercise tips in mind and exercising correctly, you can make your workouts more effective, reduce the risk of injury and enjoy the steady progress in your fitness journey. 

Remember, exercise is a journey – stay informed, listen to your body and you will avoid these common exercise mistakes.

Want some more guidance on your exercise journey? Be sure to reach out to us at hello@garymillerbio.co.za