Common Mistakes People Make in Their Fitness Journey & How To Avoid Them
Fancy water bottles, pre and post workout supplements, and two hundred dollar shoes – sometimes the hardest part of working out isn’t the workout, it is all the details around it. As a fitness coach, I see a trend in most common mistakes people make in their fitness journey – so here is the list and how to avoid them.
1. Wearing the wrong shoes
There are different shoe types for a reason. Tennis demands a lot of side-to-side movement, running on a trail requires enhanced stability and grip, and you’ll probably be doing some vertical jumping when you play basketball. If you’re wearing training shoes with little to no support when you’re running around a tennis court, you’re more likely to get an injury in your foot or ankle. Do your research on what types of workout program you are about to embark on and find shoes that meet that description – unsure, just ask your coach 🙂
2. Pushing past your body’s limits
it’s surprising how many people jump into a new fitness program for the first time in months or years and attack the cardio machines or weight rack like their hiatus never happened
Take a knee, beautiful. Going too hard too fast can cause an injury and/or cause you to feel frustrated. Remember with time your body will adjust to your new activity level but the key to long-term success (both physically and mentally) is to start small and work toward your goal.
3. Ignoring the importance of diet
You’ve likely heard “You can’t outrun a bad diet.” It’s true, so heed the advice to avoid one of the most common workout mistakes. If your eating habits aren’t aligned with your fitness goals, you’ll never hit them. Step one in upgrading your diet is to reduce your consumption of added sugar.
Many active people eat too many carbs—especially simple carbs like sugar—and don’t pay nearly enough attention to fat and protein. Make sure every meal contains a balance of protein, fat, and fiber. Neglecting these suggestions will yield poor blood sugar control, higher insulin levels, increased fat storage, and decreased fat burning.
Want to make things easy on yourself? Beachbody’s Portion Fix containers make it simple to figure out how much you should eat of different food types, helping you to consume just the right amount of protein, veggies, carbs, and more, depending on your body type and goals.
Need to take it to the next level? Maybe you need a MINDSHIFT change – in that case 2B Mindset might be for you.
4. Skipping the Warm-Up and Cool Down 
This common workout mistake isn’t just a beginners mistake – skipping the warm up and cool down. It’s great to be excited to get to the heart of the workout, but a warm-up shouldn’t be optional. Before jumping into beast mode, take a few minutes to get your body ready for an intense workout with an active warm-up that includes dynamic stretching, which can help improve performance and prevent injury.
Once you finish the final rep at the end of your workout, cool down with a few minutes of stretching, foam rolling, or both.
Warming up before a workout will help your muscles be ready to work harder and faster, and getting stretches in after a workout as you cool down will help accelerate recovery.
5. Doing the Same Workout ALLLLL the Time
After searching tirelessly for a mode of exercise you actually enjoy, it can be a relief to finally find the right one. But beware! Comfort can be the enemy of progress. Doing the same exact workout all the time, whether that’s running the same route at the same pace or always going to the same yoga class, doesn’t give your body the variety it needs to change and improve. You need to incorporate strategic variation into your training plan to keep your results coming.
The reason why most people see their results stagnate is that they do the same one or two workouts day after day, week after week, month after month, and even year after year. That’s why Beachbody programs include multiple different workouts with different trainers to maximize your results.
6. Only Focusing on the Muscles you can see
Ever go to the gym or maybe even a public pool and see ‘that guy’ – you know the one that is all arms and abs but totally skips leg day?! 
Brings me to today’s fitness mistake – Only focusing on the muscles you can see.
In the pursuit of head turning muscles, many people focus only on those they can see in the mirror—pecs, shoulders, arms, and abs. Since most people already more frequently use the muscles on the front of their bodies—such one-sided training often worsens existing postural and performance issues.
Overemphasizing the front side of your body can lead to muscular imbalances, a hunched posture, and an increased risk of injury.
So not only does it look silly, it is bad for your bod!
Although these are common mistakes people make in their fitness journey, you do not have to be one of those people! Educating yourself is the best tool for success! Avoiding these mistakes will help you continue getting the results you are looking for while feeling accomplished!
If you want more tips and help along your fitness journey, fill out the application below for a spot in my next online challenge group!