7 Extremely Common Fitness Mistakes Many Women Make ...

1. Not Lifting Weights until You Lose Weight

Muscle burns more calories at rest, so lifting weights is something every person trying to lose weight should do. And even if you are not trying to lose weight to tone and better your health, you should be lifting. Your weights do not have to be heavy; I lift ten to fifteen pound dumbbells at most and these weights give me great muscle tone. Integrate a weight training schedule into your routine so that you do not make this as one of your fitness mistakes.

2. Skipping Meals

As a certified trainer I have countless female clients that come to me because they feel like they ruined their metabolism from skipping meals. Skipping meals is unhealthy for your body and can cause metabolic syndrome, which will cause you to have weight gain and other health issues. You can resolve this by eating 5-7 healthy mini meals throughout the day. This will also help you to lose weight and have mega energy for the day!

3. Eating when We Are Emotional

Okay so I was once an offender of this as well. We have a hard day or someone close to us is ill and a bag of chips becomes our comforting companion for the night. Sound familiar? Except the chips comfort you for a few minutes and then when you are finished eating, you are left feeling disgusted with yourself and bloated. Do not give in to emotional eating. I have learned to replace my eating with a workout or you can even write a letter to purge your emotions.

4. Becoming a Chronic Class Hopper

I have countless clients that have come to me for help because they are taking 3-4 different exercise classes and seeing zero results, so they join me hoping for a solution. My solution is to focus on 1-2 classes at most and perform cardio and weight training on your off class days. With this, my clients see tremendous results! By focusing on these one or two classes, you can target muscle groups and make the most out of your training. If you are able to take 4 classes in a row, you are probably not performing at optimum level or maybe those workouts are just not challenging you enough. Find the program that is right for you! And also, for injury prevention, avoid over class consumption so you are not over-training your muscles.

5. Letting a Fight Ruin Our Workout

Often women may miss a workout because of a fight with a significant other or family member. This choice will not help you to get in better shape or better your health; in fact, this has the opposite effect. Make a choice to exercise and not let anything ruin your workout. Fuel your workout by thinking of a solution to your fight while you are exercising. I guarantee you will have greater clarity after you exercise and you will feel great!

6. Drinking Too Much Diet Soda

Often women drink that diet soda hoping it will fill them up so they eat less can actually experience the opposite effect, so they end up eating more. Replace your diet soda with water with a squirt of lemon or lime and you will be less bloated. Additionally, diet soda dehydrates your muscles, which is counterproductive for exercising. Fuel your body’s thirst with a cold glass of water!

7. Only Focusing on One or Two Muscle Groups

Stop doing all leg exercises to tone your leg muscles or doing hundreds of crunches to flatten your stomach. You are missing out on great results! To have a balanced fitness routine, you should be focusing on total body. There is no spot removal, so understand that with a cardio and strength program along with a healthy meal plan, you will achieve your goals.

Hope these tips help you to achieve the great results you deserve. Do you currently make any of these fitness mistakes and, if so, which ones do you make?