It doesn't matter if you're a "newbie" or a veteran at the gym, we can all create mistakes which can slow or even halt or progress. By keeping up with the latest research and knowing how your body responds to specific stimulus, you can make your time in and out of the gym more productive.
Below are a few common mistakes I have seen clients make...
YOU DON'T CONSUME ENOUGH CALORIES
Everyone want's that "6-pack" abs look. In order to reveal the abdominal muscles you must lose the subcutaneous bodyfat - the layer of fat between the abdominals and skin. In order to accomplish that, you must create a calorie deficit by cutting calories and doing cardio. However, many people cut their calories too low and do not consume nutrient dense calories.
When you cut your calories too low you prevent an anabolic state where the body can build and repair muscle tissue and actually slow your metabolism making it easy to over train. This is because you don't allow your body enough nutrients to fuel recovery and muscle growth.
Researchers from the University of Texas state thirty grams of protein per meal is ideal. By increasing or decreasing your caloric intake by about 100-200 each day, depending if your caloric intake is too low or high, it will allow your body to adjust appropriately. The gradual caloric manipulation will help to maintain muscle which burns calories at rest.
I recommend using a scale that measures your bodyfat percent as well as body weight. If you notice your body weight is dropping but your bodyfat percent remains the same or higher, you are burning muscle which is counter productive. The ideal weight loss environment is to have a decrease in bodyfat percentage while maintaining lean (muscle and bone) weight.
It's important to remember not all calories are created equal. Three hundred calories of grilled chicken breast is going to be more beneficial for your fitness goals as apposed to three hundred calories from pizza.
YOU SKIP CARDIO
I was guilty of this for a long time! I was so interested in building muscle and enjoyed strength training that I'd do cardio more as an afterthought... If I had time. However, as we get older things like blood pressure begin to rise, muscles don't recover as efficiently as they use to and bodyfat doesn't come off as easy as it used to with just diet alone! Cardio - spin, treadmill, Zumba, Kickfit, elliptical trainer etc. will not only burn calories but will help lower blood pressure, increase heart and circulatory efficiency and draw blood into the muscles which carries oxygen and nutrients used for muscle recovery.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 20-60 minutes of cardiovascular activity 3-5 sessions each week.
YOU HAVE A BUFFET APPROACH TO YOUR FITNESS ROUTINE
I have had clients who were ALWAYS sore. They were constantly in a catabolic state because they spent hours in the gym! They would do cardio, strength training, yoga, spin, racquetball etc... sometimes all in the same day!!!
It's like they have FITNESS A.D.D! I believe and preach the importance of changing your workouts around frequently to shock the muscles and keep your body in an anabolic state. However, you need to develop a structured program - have a plan. It's important to train your muscles properly to avoid muscle imbalances and injury. I see people working chest, biceps and triceps all the time yet neglect the same intensity with other body parts. Performing exercises like squats and leg press use the larger muscles in the body. This creates an oxygen demand which improves the cardiovascular system. It also places an energy demand on the body which burns calories. Don't neglect certain areas of the body because of a scattered, non-structured program.
It's important to learn how to train all the muscles of the body properly and in a specific order to create not only an anabolic environment for growth but also to prevent over training and no progress. If you are spending hours in the gym, trying several different fitness routines simultaneously and not losing body fat or seeing forward progress, perhaps you are over training and may want to focus on streamlining your fitness routine. Too many people watch something on Youtube or even invent various movements and add them to their current workout without reworking the program and dropping ineffective exercises or exercises that have stopped producing results for their particular body. STIMULATE DON'T ANNIHILATE YOUR MUSCLES!
Develop a workout plan, stick with it. Coming into the gym and fluttering around from exercise to exercise will leave you frustrated, with a unproportionate looking body and possibly muscle imbalances which lead to injury.