Jun
11
We talked about work outs a few weeks ago and I thought I would discuss common workout mistakes this week. These are all the things I did wrong when I first started out. Hopefully, you can avoid repeating my mistakes.
My Mistake
The first and worst mistake I made when I started working out was trying too hard. I was frustrated by years of being out of shape and a bit angry with myself for not doing anything about it so far. I was determined to make a change and I wanted to do it NOW!. I signed up for the gym, I read all the workout books and I knew exactly what I wanted my workout to be. I even spent a couple of hours organizing my workout into a nice spreadsheet.
Guess what happened. I got to the gym and I just couldn’t do it. I planned for 45 minutes on the treadmill but I could barely do 10. I planned six different exercises with 4 sets of 10 reps each, but I could barely do 1 set. I planned for what I thought was a reasonable weight but I couldn’t lift even half that much. I planned for 90 minutes total at the gym but I didn’t know where anything was and it took me an hour just to figure out which machines I should use and where they were.
The exercises that I did do left me in pain. I was trying too hard and using too much weight. I almost tore a muscle in my arm and my back was sore for days after that work out. Even the treadmill nearly killed me because I wasn’t used to running or walking on a moving surface.
I left the gym dejected, disappoint and dispirited. I almost didn’t come back. Even though I knew I was out of shape, I had somehow expected to do better. I figured that my determination and commitment to getting healthy would make me perform at a level far higher than I should have expected. However, no matter how determined you are, your body still has limits and if you’re as out of shape as I was, then those limits are pretty low.
Lesson Learned
Trying too hard can lead to injuries both physical and psychological. Your body can’t take much strain at this point and you’re very likely to cause yourself a serious injury if you try too hard. For example, if you’re overweight like I was, running can be very bad for your feet due to the hard impact. Also, trying too hard can be depressing. You try hard enough and fail bad enough that you don’t feel like trying again. That almost happened to me.
A good workout should challenge you but it shouldn’t defeat you. That means you need to pick weights and times that you can actually perform. If you’re going to do sets of 10 reps then you need to do them with a weight that you can lift 10 times. Yes, you should be straining by that 10th rep, but it should be doable. Same for cardio. If you can’t run then walk. Walking is fine. It will get you used to the treadmill and will still work off some calories. If you can’t bike at a fast pace then bike at a slower but steady pace. Set yourself goals that you can achieve and then slowly improve them.
For example, my initial goal was to run on the treadmill for 45 minutes at 6.5 mph. I failed miserably. So I changed my goal. I started with 10 minutes of walking at about 4mph. Yah, sounds pretty easy but that was all I could do back then. Then I slowly increased that goal. Each week I would add a minute to the time, or .1 mph to the speed. Sure, it wasn’t as impressive as powering through that first day’s workout on willpower alone, but it was a lot healthier for both mind and body.
Summary
So no, you’re not going to run a marathon on your first workout. Instead, you need to set goals that challenge you while still being realistic. Try those goals out and then slowly increase them if they feel easy. Your body will thank you for it.
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[...] Common Workout Mistakes - The First Day MarathonCommon Workout Mistakes - The Bad Workout Partner This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series, Common Workout Mistakes. We’re talking about common workout mistakes this week. We discussed trying a bit too hard yesterday . Today, we’re going to talk about another common mistake, picking the wrong partner. [...]