A lot of people make a lot of mistakes either before, during or after workout. These mistakes or wrong workout lifestyles prevent tangible results from showing.

It is no longer news that exercise is very good for the health, helps to relieve stress, helps the cardiovascular system, helps in weight loss and many other benefits.

So, I’ll be talking about some of these mistakes and the right things to do.

1. WORKING OUT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH

Every vehicle needs fuel to function, so also energy is needed for man to function well. Working out requires a lot of energy which can only be provided through food. So, avoid working out on an empty stomach. Meanwhile, time your eating prior to workout. Eat nothing less than 45 minutes to 1 hour before you start your training. This will provide you with the needed blood sugar; the required energy for your training. Eating protein and carbs-rich food will help a lot. Also, eating wholegrain bread, nuts, watermelon etc. can help ease muscle soreness.

Eating a carb and protein-rich meal about 45 mins – 1 hour before workout is quite helpful. Wholegrain bread, nuts, watermelon after workout help ease muscle soreness.

2. NOT DOING WARM-UP BEFORE WORKOUT

Warming up the car engine helps it get ready for the day, so also, warming up the muscles helps get them ready for training. Don’t just jump into workout. You’ll stress your muscles this way. Doing some warm up, such as jumping jacks, jogging for a few minutes, arm circles, stretching, and so on will get the muscles, lungs and heart ready for physical activity. Warm up helps to increase oxygen and blood circulation which also boosts muscle elasticity, which in turn boosts endurance and strength.

Doing some warm up before workout helps the muscles to boost endurance and strength

3. TRAINING TOO HARD

Hey, hey, hey, chillax, don’t go too hard on yourself. Training too hard can not only lead to minimal results, but also muscle injury. The muscles need time to rest. It is during the period of rest that the muscles are able to build up. So, take enough time to rest, about 8 hours of sleep daily. Training too hard makes the muscles susceptible to injuries, and muscle injuries such as strain can be really serious. Over 1.5 million cases are recorded yearly in Nigeria. Training too hard can also lead to excessive soreness, fatigue, minimal performance and even irritation. You don’t have to attempt 50 reps; 5 sets of push-up as a beginner or bench press 200kg, you ain’t Arnold Schwarzenegger, go easy dude. Do what you can do and increase the number of reps or the amount of kg only when you can. With consistency, and the correct diet, you should see tangible results.

Don’t work too hard, give time for rest and increase your number of reps or amount of pounds only when you are able to.

4. POOR DIETING

Basically, to get optimal results, the diet plays a very important role. You just don’t go pumping iron daily without giving enough attention to your diet. The main muscle builder and repairer is what you eat. Click the link below for a perfect body builder’s diet

THE BODY BUILDER’S DIET

Click the link below for a perfect weight loss diet (including weight loss exercises)

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND ALSO GET RID OF BELLY FAT.

Don’t ignore your diet. It forms a very substantial part of your training.

Give a lot of attention to your diet, it is very crucial for getting good results.

5. NOT HAVING A WORKOUT PLAN

Don’t just start doing your workout anyhow. Give yourself a good plan. It gives you direction. You save yourself a lot of time and energy that could be wasted due to lack of a good game plan. Carefully strategize, look into you schedule, don’t try to just ‘rough it in’. You might end up missing it. Also put your body condition into consideration. I used to do my workout based on what muscle group I feel like working. But lately, I’ve carefully strategized, intensively working a particular muscle group daily, over a period of 5 days and 2 days for rest. i.e. Abs on Mondays, chest on Tuesdays, and so on, in the afternoon when I’ll have the time and then take rest on Saturday and Sunday. This way, each muscle group is able to rest after I’ve worked it.

Give yourself a good workout plan. It’ll give you direction and prevent waste of time and energy.

6. INCONSISTENCY

This is a very serious issue that a lot of people face. I’ve talked to a number of people and they tell me “I used to workout, but I stopped due to inconsistency.” Yeah, true, it happens a lot, infact, to the lot of us, but you don’t just give up because you are inconsistent. That’s why having a good plan is important, it very much helps one to be consistent. Also, a lot of people are tempted to try various workout plans so as to get quick results, but you need to stick to the one you’ve created for yourself and with time, you’ll see results, in as much it is a good plan.

Consistency is key! Create for yourself a good plan and be consistent with it.

7. NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP

During sleep, a lot of healing process occurs. During sleep, the muscles which have been stressed are strengthened and they grow. Without sufficient sleep, the production of growth hormone is tampered with. You also discover that if you don’t get sufficient sleep, the muscle group which your worked previously are still sore and tensed. While you sleep, less work is done by the heart which allows for the supply of more amount of blood to the muscles which then increases the amount of oxygen and nutrients supplied to the muscles which eventually promotes healing and rejuvenation of the muscles.

Give enough time for sleep. About 6-8 hours daily. It helps the muscles.

I hope you have learnt a lot from this post. Kindly like, share and comment on the comment section below.

Merci 💪