5 Bad Fitness Habits to Avoid

Putting in the time and effort to workout a few days each week is a step in the right direction when it comes to achieving a healthy lifestyle. However, many regular exercisers tend to develop a range of bad fitness habits that prevent them from getting the most out of their workout sessions, hinder their workout progress and leave them feeling frustrated and on the brink of quitting. In this post I want to take a detailed look at five of the most common bad fitness habits which you may need to fix.

Habit 1 – Failing To Warm Up & Cool Down

 Many people skip warm ups and cool downs because they see them as a waste of time that can be better spent by doing other exercises instead. If you’re guilty of this habit, you need to break it. Warm up and cool down sessions are important to any workout regimen as they help you smoothly and safely transition the body in and out of exercise. By skipping your warm up or cool down sessions, you significantly increase your injury risk and also extend your recovery times between workouts.

Habit 2 – Not Sleeping Enough

Sleep is essential for optimal workout performance and recovery. As you sleep, the muscles that were exercised during your day’s workout session get a chance to recover while your body re-energizes itself. This then allows you to perform at your best during all your workout sessions without exposing your body to harm. Failing to get enough sleep inhibits this process, slows down your recovery times and also reduces the amount of energy you have during each workout. Therefore, if you’re not doing so already, make sure you’re getting at least six hours of undisturbed sleep each night.

Habit 3 – Resting Too Much During Workouts

Resting during your workouts is necessary for performing each exercise safely and to the best of your abilities. However, taking extended rests between each exercise drags out your workout session and reduces the efficiency of your workouts. Therefore, make sure you keep your rests short by limiting them to between 30 and 60 seconds. Any longer than that and your workouts lose intensity.

Habit 4 – Sticking To The Same Workout Routine

 When you engage in the exact same workout routine for long periods of time, you’ll get stuck in a workout rut. This will reduce your fitness motivation which results in you putting less effort into your workouts and getting limited results from them. To prevent this from happening, make sure you freshen up your workout routine with new exercises every few weeks. Not only will this ensure that you get the best result from your workouts but it will also make your fitness journey much more enjoyable.

Habit 5 – Working Out 7 Days A Week

Most people who are new to fitness start to believe that the more they workout, the better their results will be. This leads to many of them getting into the habit of exercising every day without resting. However, exercising seven days a week and not allowing your body to properly recover from intensive workouts is very dangerous. It can hamper your fitness progress and cause serious injuries. Therefore, make sure you schedule at least one full day off from exercise each week so that your body can recuperate.

Summary

If you’re guilty of one or more of these bad habits, start making some changes today. You’ll find that your fitness and the results you get from your training will rapidly improve once you do this.