These 6 Big Workout Mistakes Are The Reason You’re Not Seeing Results

If you’ve been hitting the gym on the regular for months but find that you’re not seeing any change in your body at all, it could be time to reconsider your workout routine.

Simple mistakes can do a lot to slow down progress, meaning your time and effort could be going to waste without you evening realising it. The solution? Streamline your workout so that every single part of your routine is helping you to reach your goals.

Read on for some mistakes you’ve probably been making at the gym…

1. You’re resting for too long between sets
Yes, doing slow reps and taking longer rest periods is key if you’re aiming to build some muscle, but resting for too long could actually work against you. Fitness blogger Andrew Tracey calls rest periods “the most criminally untracked variables” of any workout, according to The Telegraph. Get yourself a timing app to make sure your rests are never more than two minutes. For fat burning, they should be much lower – aim for a certain number of reps every minute, on the minute.

2. You’re focusing too much on cardio
The great Cardio Myth is that blasting out 10k on the treadmill is the only way to burn fat. But it’s definitely not an all-over body workout. Cardio moves are anything that get the heart and lungs pumping, and you can incorporate more useful cardio into your workout by doing fast paced squat sets, lunge sets, burpees and mountain climbers.

3. You’re scared of more intense lifting moves
If you’re going straight for the 3kg dumbbells and doing tricep curls and lateral raises for 30 minutes, you’re only working one muscle set. The basic muscle-building moves of any workout should be deadlifts, squats, bench presses and military presses, which work all the key muscle groups. From there you can add in more isolated moves.

4. You’re only working on your “problem” areas
Sweating buckets doing crunches for 30 minutes three times a week might give you sore ab muscles, but that’s about it. Losing weight in one area only is not possible, nor should you want it to be. Focus on strengthening your core through lifting and smart cardio instead, and the rest will follow.

5. You’re not warming up properly
Yes, five or ten minutes on the treadmill is great to get your heart rate up before beginning a workout, but it doesn’t do much to loosen your muscles. Prevent any nasty injuries by doing some short stretches before getting started – lunges, squats, arm circles, hip circles and ankle circles are all good to include.

6. You’re shooting yourself in the foot by not prepping
If you find that your good intentions to hit the gym early in the morning fall by the wayside as soon as the alarm goes off, do everything you can to prevent that happening. Have your bag packed, your gym gear laid out and ready to throw on, your hair band to hand… If you know you can be out the door in ten minutes flat you’re far more likely to actually get up and go.

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