5 Mistakes to Avoid when Starting Your Fitness Journey

Avoid the frustration that comes with starting your fitness journey and achieve your goals faster.

Fitness is an aspect of our lives that most of us are constantly trying to improve.

Sometimes we find ourselves making very common mistakes without realizing it which can eventually lead to feeling demotivated because we don't see the results.

In this blog post we will be talking about the 5 mistakes you can avoid to reach your goals.

Ignoring the warm-up phase of the workout is a common mistake that a lot of people make when exercising.

These days many of us work at a desk, or don't have a physically demanding job.

Therefore, it is important to get warmed up before your workouts to prepare your body for movement or exertion.

Warming up before you exercise gets the blood pumping!

This, in turn, delivers oxygen to the exercising muscles, reducing the risk of injury and actually increasing performance, too.

The warm-up is an essential phase of the workout, as it prepares you for your workout ahead.

Here are a few steps that you can follow to help you with your warm-ups:

The use of dynamic stretching in the warmup is vital.

Dynamic stretching refers to any stretch that is performed with movement.

Dynamic stretching not only allows you to warm up your body, but it also increases the mobility and flexibility of your muscles and joints.

Improper form is something that's done not just by beginners but professionals as well.

If you're not using the correct form, you’re actually not even working the intended muscle groups.

When strength training any area of your body, having proper form and technique is crucial to make sure you’re working the intended muscle groups that you want to develop and grow.

But even more important than that, in a lot of cases, bad technique or improper form during exercise can lead to injury.

Reduce your risk of injury by seeking help from a coach or personal trainer.

This will teach you proper form and technique, minimizing your risk of injury and producing maximum results.

When it comes to fitness, it is all about time, effort and consistency.

Forget instant results and focus instead on building lasting, healthy habits that work for yourself.

We have been conditioned to believe that losing weight is a quick process.

Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case.

Sure, you may lose a bit of weight if you’re consuming 500 calories and working out 3 times a day.

But is this sustainable? No.

So, just let the process happen.

Stick to your plan, allow for the time that is required, put in the effort and you will achieve your goals.

Set small, achievable goals and once you achieve one you can set a new goal.

Work towards your smaller goals every day.

Task decomposition is almost the key to anything.

It's easy to look at someone who lost 20 pounds and expect the same results. You are not them.

All too often we compare ourselves to our friends, but we don't know their journey or their whole story.

We can only focus on ourselves.

Make small goals and focus on achieving them before moving on to your next goal.

It’s tempting to put pressure on yourself to achieve a huge goal like losing 50 pounds in two months.

In reality, this is unrealistic and does nothing but set you up for failure.

Too much too soon, or too much exercise volume can potentially lead to a burnout or injury in some cases.

It is easy to suggest that if you're not pushing yourself hard enough, that you won’t make any progress.

The point is to try and find the balance.

Pushing yourself hard is good for gaining muscle and development, but it is also important to give your body an adequate amount of time for rest and recovery.

Planning your workouts is a great idea to prevent yourself from burning out.

Put some effort into planning what you will be training throughout the week.

For example, what days you will do strength training or cardio and which days you will take off to recover from your workout sessions.

Be diligent in your gym routine and be patient with your results.

There will be good days and bad days at the gym, we all have them.

Keep putting in the effort, and keep showing up and you will be rewarded with a stronger body, and a more resilient mind.

Hopefully you gained a new perspective from some of the points mentioned above and the benefits of preparation prior to embarking on your fitness journey.

Launch your exercise journey today

If you're looking to start your exercise journey but are worried about making mistakes,

Don’t worry! We offer a 1-on-1 program for each client.

Our workouts are specifically designed to suit your body, your fitness level, your needs and goals.

To set up a discovery call to learn about your training options and other ways KellyKinetix can help you visit and for us to meet you to see which trainer would be your best fit, visit this link.