Discover the 3 main mistakes to avoid in order to progress in fitness and enjoy the results. For each of them, we explain to you how to be strong so that you don’t make the same mistakes again: get ready to create an unstoppable training plan!
Wanting to do too much and setting unrealistic goals
When you start fitness training, there is always lots of enthusiasm. Some beginners impose an iron discipline on themselves because they want to train like a top-level sportsman: 4 sessions per week, evenings or full half days devoted to running, jumping, rowing or pedalling… Imposing too high a pace is to be avoided because, after a few weeks, you risk slackening the rhythm or becoming de-motivated and, in the worst case, you can get injured.
Your enthusiasm and determination will certainly help you to progress, but by measuring your effort according to your abilities and by aiming for a goal that is within your reach, you will have more fun and, over time, establish a healthy sports routine.
Our tips to avoid making this mistake:
To get results quickly, set yourself a realistic target. Start by setting clear goals for yourself, such as losing weight, increasing muscle mass or improving cardio-respiratory capacity. Then, detail the steps you need to take to get there, keeping it gradual. It is best to set a measurable goal, for example, measurements to be achieved or a healthy weight to be regained, taking into account your body shape and athletic ability. In this way, you will be able to see your progress session after session.
Not having a training plan
Once you are in front of your fitness equipment, it is tempting to flit between different sessions, to start a program, then to move from one exercise to another without any real logical progression. You take the risk of missing one session, then two, thinking that it is not very serious. But when you start again, it becomes difficult to know where you were and the objective of your training becomes blurred as you lose motivation.
How do you keep to regular training and progress? What you need is a proper training plan. Once your goal has been determined and broken down into small steps, you can choose a variety of exercises to achieve it, and you will know exactly what your WOD (workout of the day) is at the beginning of each session. No more missing a sports session, you’re on a winning streak!
Our tips to avoid making this mistake:
Set up a schedule to optimise your training. This will allow you to establish a motivating routine and to record your sessions in your diary along with your other personal and professional activities. Your fitness sessions will then become a must, and it will be easy to write down your goals of the day, your victories of the moment and ideas for exercises to help you to vary your training. Feel free to post your schedule at home, close to where you work out, or if you prefer, keep a logbook of your sessions.
Neglecting certain aspects of training
Pre-establishing the number of exercises per session, varying the content to adapt to your capacities, taking notes on your progress, -now everything should be ideal. However, if you look at your schedule closely, your 45 minutes of running are slotted in between an outing to a restaurant and a professional appointment, so it would seem that your training plan is yet to be fully optimised.
When setting up your program, be sure to plan for warm-up and cool-down periods in addition to the time you have allotted for exercise. Learning about the basics of nutrition and hydration for athletes will also ensure that you don’t overlook any of the criteria that can lead you to success.
Our tips on how not to make that mistake.
Prepare your equipment in advance, so that you can create good habits and always have what you need to hand. Once you are ready in your sportswear, place your water bottle on the bottle holder of your fitness equipment or on a chair near the area where you are training. Always start your workouts with 5-10 minutes of warm-up, drink regularly throughout and after you finish, and remember to stretch to avoid aches and pains. To make sure you have a diet adapted to your practices, calculate the number of calories burned and prepare your menus in advance. By always doing things in the same order, you make sure you don’t forget anything.
Check out our Health & Fitness page for more advice.