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Mistakes people make at the gym can lead to injury, and may be the cause of much frustration if they are not seeing positive results for their efforts.

NO PLAN

Not having a workout plan for cardiovascular exercise and weight training is the most common mistake people make at the gym. A workout plan incorporates frequency (the number of exercise sessions per week), duration (time spent exercising per session), and intensity (percent of maximum heart rate).

Infrequent workouts may compel people to overdo it when they make appearances at the gym, but doing too much too soon, or too sporadically, can cause injury and setbacks. Others may equate time spent at the gym to time spent exercising. However, spending 30 minutes on the treadmill and 30 minutes socializing at the juice bar does not total an hour of beneficial exercise. And when it comes to intensity, leisurely pedaling while watching television is not as effective as the spinning class.

NO VARIETY

Trudging through the same treadmill or elliptical trainer routine is another mistake people make at the gym. Logging the time for a cardiovascular workout is better than not doing it at all, but bodies adapt to stresses. Setting the treadmill to the same speed or the elliptical trainer to the same resistance time after time is not creating new stresses. Consequently, people reach a fitness or weight-loss plateau, which is discouraging and may cause them to abandon their exercise programs for lack of results.

Similarly, performing the same circuit on the weight machines is a mistake people make at the gym. It is important to use free weights (dumbbells and barbells) in addition to the machines to introduce new stresses to muscles, and to try new exercises every four to six weeks.

NO FOCUS

Covering the LEDs on the cardiovascular machines with towels or magazines is a mistake people make at the gym. They may feel the need to zone out while they work out, but their bodies are likely to do the same. Instead, they should challenge their cardiovascular systems with high-intensity intervals (higher speed, incline or resistance) mixed in with their steady state efforts. Focusing their efforts boosts calorie expenditure and yields the best overall results.

Learn more about this author, Michelle Gardner.
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