You did the tricky part of joining the gym and actually going, but we’d argue the hard work has only just begun. You have to actually know what you’re doing in the gym to prevent injuries and plateauing in your workout. Injuries will set you back weeks or months, and plateauing will drain your commitment.
Below, we’ll talk you through some common mistakes women make in the gym when training and how not to do them.
Skipping the Warm-up
If you want to prevent injuries, don’t skip the warm-up. For some reason, the warm-up is the most mentally challenging part of any workout. But trust us, it’s not cool to skip this part – you will get injuries.
Working out with cold muscles increases the chances of pulling a muscle or causing more serious injuries. An adequate warm-up increases your pulse rate, increases blood supply to the various muscles, loosens them up, and gets your body used to the positions of different activities.
Women tend to be more flexible than men. Still, being flexible does not mean your muscles are prepared for heavyweight lifting or more intense activities.
Over training and Not Prioritizing Recovery
Being self-disciplined in workouts is good, but don’t fall into the over training trap.
Many women, particularly those working to stick to certain fitness targets, skip rest days, train multiple times per day, and don’t fuel the workouts they’re doing with the correct nutrition. Muscles become exhausted, the mind becomes exhausted, and eventually, you will burn out. You can also create strain injuries like tendinitis.
With this comes a plateau in progress. Your muscles don’t have the time to repair and grow, and so they don’t improve. If anything, sometimes, they’re less defined and stronger than before.
Take rest days twice weekly, and if you have to do something, do something beneficial to recovery, like yoga, Pilates, or a light walk. Pilates is a massive trend right now for men and women and is great for strength and proper form.
On recovery days, you should also focus on nutrition and supplements. A high protein intake and a balanced diet is essential. We would also argue it’s worth looking into supplements that people don’t always think are suitable for women.
To order steroids online Canada female bodybuilders and athletes can get them delivered directly to their door, to help them increase strength and muscle growth just as they would for men.
Lifting Too Light or Using Poor Form
There’s nothing wrong with doing hypertrophy workouts and focusing on lighter weights. But if you’re focusing on lighter weights consistently and never increasing your weights, you probably won’t see results.
To maximize the growth and maintenance of lean mass, it is essential to lift heavier weights and more essentially, to focus on form. Poor form will give you an injury faster than anything else.
Whether you’re a pro or an expert, if you have doubts about your technique, ask for advice from a personal trainer in the gym. You don’t have to book a session, but you can always ask someone working in the gym if your form is good.
Follow our advice, and you should avoid injuries and plateauing. Most people will have an injury – we wouldn’t say it’s 100% unavoidable – but you can reduce the likelihood. What is unavoidable is halting the progress of your workout and not seeing results. Show up for yourself, and the results will show themselves to you!
