FITNESS MISTAKES
January 14, 2010
I am about to start my workout. But before I go, I want to talk about 4 common fitness mistakes that I see all the time. Please make sure to read the entire post because you are most likely making at least one of the mistakes below.
There’s no question that if you’re reading this right now, you have spent time, likely hundreds of hours worth, working towards a six pack or a flatter more tone tummy. Whether you’ve been doing every variety of crunch you could come up with or you slave away on the cardio machine for hours each week, you’re working hard, yet are still not seeing the results you think you should be getting.
Frustrated, confused, and overwhelmed with information, you’re likely wondering what you are doing wrong.
The big issue is that most people do take the wrong approach to getting six pack abs and loosing weight in general and this seriously hinders their ability to see success.
Let’s go over some of the big mistakes – see if you recognize a few that you might be making.
Over-Reliance On Cardio Training
The first big mistake that many people start making with their workout program is an over reliance on cardio training. The thinking here is that the more calories you can burn off through cardio, the closer you will come to reaching your fat loss goals.
It is true that cardio will burn calories, but you need to think of the overall daily effect. When you compare cardio training to weight lifting in that regard, weight lifting is really going to overtake the calories burned during cardio as it will increase your metabolism for up to 48 hours following the workout. This means a greater daily calorie burn, which then translates into faster fat loss.
Starvation Diet Programs
The second big mistake that I see people making is that they’ll put themselves on some starvation diet, thinking this is the best way to get their body to burn their ugly unwanted fat. Here’s the important thing to remember:
When you dramatically reduce your calorie intake, the metabolism will begin to slow dramatically in an effort to help conserve fuel. This means you’re burning fewer calories minute per minute and it’s actually going to move you away from your goal.
Instead, the idea is to eat few enough calories that your body does start using fat as fuel, but not so little that you start seeing the metabolism shut down. It’s a fine balance that you must learn to follow if you want to see success.
Little To No Tracking Method
Another big problem is a lack of tracking method. If you aren’t tracking what you’re doing for your workouts along with how many calories you’re taking in, it’s going to become harder and harder to see where you might need to make adjustments.
It may seem tedious at first to track all these minor details but once you get into the habit you should find that it’s not really that bad at all. There are even I phone apps that help you track and monitor these things, However if you are using any type of weight loss computing software, most of them let you pick your weight loss goal for each week. Most people chose the maximum which is usually at the 1.5lbs to 2 lbs per week. I can promise you that you will see better results going with a lower goal of .5 lbs to .75 lbs per week. This will keep you from taking in too few calories.
Too Much Direct Abdominal Work
Finally, the last major issue that prevents people from getting six pack abs is doing far too much direct ab work. People think that in order to successfully get six pack abs, doing crunches will help build the muscle so you can see them.
The flaw in this thinking is that if there is a layer of fat covering those abs, you’re still not going to be able to see them. In order to successfully get six pack abs then, you have to shed the fat. Crunches burn very few calories therefore don’t allow you to see the results you’re looking for.
So keep these mistakes in mind. How many are you currently making?
The Shortest but Probably Most Important Blog Post
January 4, 2010
This may be the shortest post on this blog yet.
But for me, it’s probably one of the most important because I
get to learn a little bit about you, and take away something valuable I
can use in my life.
I have two questions for you.
1. What’s your favorite quote of all time?
2. What’s your favorite business, self-help, or motivational book of all time?
For me, my favorite quote is: “If not me who? If not now when?”
And my favorite book is: “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff at Work”, Richard Carlson
How about you? What’s your favorite quote and book of all time?
You know… the ones that have had the most influence on you, your character, business, or life philosophy.
Let me know below in the comment section.