These ten fitness mistakes are the most common

If you want to feel healthier, more energetic, more desirable, and more confident, all you really need to do is exercise regularly. There is currently no better medicine than individually adapted fitness programs. Provided you know what you’re doing. So here are the 10 fitness mistakes you should avoid:

Mistake 1: Catching up

If you haven’t been able to do any fitness training for a long time after an illness or injury, you would prefer to make up for what you missed as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this is not how it works. Both endurance and strength are naturally lost after more than a week’s break. The body will not make up for this as quickly as possible with a tough workout. It is better to start again moderately and then slowly increase your performance. Otherwise, the subsequent injury or illness is imminent.

Mistake 2: Sport despite infection

Your nose is running, and your limbs ache. A cold is coming on. To avoid missing a training session, many athletes ignore these symptoms – to the detriment of their health. A mild cold without a sore throat and cough is not so bad. You can do a slow endurance run or lightweight training. But if you have a flu-like infection, you must take a break. Otherwise, you could get a dangerous heart muscle inflammation in the worst case. The body is in an emergency and needs all its reserves to fight the viruses. You can slowly start again after an influenza infection without fever once the symptoms have subsided. If you have a fever, you should definitely wait another week.

Mistake 3: Wrong stimuli

You train regularly, are diligent in your training, and still don’t want to improve your performance? If there are no medical reasons, this could be due to the wrong intensity of stimuli. If you always train the same way, you can’t expect any performance improvement. Both too little and too much stimulation is counterproductive. Therefore, it is advisable to do one repetition strength test every few weeks for muscle building. It is vital to perform the training sessions at the right intensity in endurance sports. A performance diagnostic test can help some people. They can discuss their training with an experienced trainer and perhaps have an individually tailored plan drawn up.

Mistake 4: Muscular imbalances

Research has shown that most people who go to the gym only train specific muscles. For men, this is the biceps; for women, the glutes. And it is precisely this area that is then overworked to see quick results. This leads to muscular imbalances. This imbalance can have consequences for the entire body statics. Also, back pain, shoulder problems, and knee complaints. Better is holistic training.

Mistake 5: Incorrect posture

The University of Los Angeles study has shown that about 70 percent of all strength training people have the wrong posture. This applies to exercises with the body’s weight and workouts with dumbbells or machines. The consequences are back pain joint and muscle complaints. This is where trainers, especially in fitness studios, really come in. But there is, unfortunately, a significant shortage of good people, as a German study has shown. So no one should be afraid to talk to a trainer to correct any fitness mistakes.

Mistake 6: Too long or too short breaks

Every training load leads to deliberate fatigue of the body. In the subsequent rest phase – called supercompensation – the body adjusts better to the next load and increases performance. But it is precisely this break that many people do not take. As a result, performance slumps and injuries occur. An example: After an intensive strength training session, the muscles need about 48 hours to recover optimally. For purely aerobic exercise, 6 to 24 hours are sufficient, depending on the state of training.

Mistake 7: Jogging too fast

A widespread fitness mistake: far more than half of all joggers go too fast. This has been shown by several studies in recent years. Only 32 percent of all joggers run at a healthy pace. Surprisingly, almost all runners who run too fast realize that they are overloading their bodies and not doing themselves any good. Here’s how to find the right pace.

Mistake 8: Ignore sore muscles

Sore muscles are always a sign that you have pushed yourself a bit too hard. Your body is crying out for rest, and you should give it to it. If at all, light endurance training is possible. But only if you do not strain the painful muscles. If you continue to train anyway, you risk tearing a muscle fiber. By the way, the much-maligned lactate is not to blame for the pain. Instead, it is the most minor injury within the muscle. They usually occur during eccentric exertion. The muscle has to stretch at the same time. Speaking of stretching: stretching does not protect against sore muscles, and massage does not alleviate them either.

Mistake 9: Jerky movements

Unfortunately, a widespread fitness mistake. The weight is probably too heavy, but somehow you still want to move it. So you try it jerkily – to the detriment of your body. Backward movements should be taboo unless you have mastered the technique perfectly. But it is better to do the exercises in a steady and controlled manner.

Mistake 10: Too little sleep

Everyone’s need for sleep is different. It varies between six and eight hours. The most important criterion is that the night is restful if you wake up refreshed in the morning and feel great during the day. If not, you need to catch up. For active people, good sleep is enormously essential. Because without recovery time at night, the body cannot recover, which is detrimental to fitness.