As part of your commitment to your medical weight loss program, you have been being good and heading to the gym every night after work, but you don’t feel a difference. While you can’t expect a single workout to produce results overnight, it is always nice to feel that burn the next day to remind yourself how hard you pushed your body. But when that burn doesn’t come, it can be easy to get discouraged.
It might surprise you to realize how easy it is to go through the motions at the gym without actually getting much out of your workout. We are all guilty of it. You are tired after a long day at the office, but you push yourself to the gym anyways. After getting there twenty minutes later than planned, your spinning class has already filled up for the day and you are left on your own. So, you do what any tired and reasonable adult would do. You grab a stationary bike and plug your headphones into whatever train-wreck of a reality show happens to be on overhead, and sixty minutes and two miles later you painlessly jump up and head home for an indulgent meal.
While you did your time at the gym, you didn’t push yourself while you were there, and while a relaxing bike ride is better than nothing it is not going to give you the same burn for your buck as an intense cardio class.
There are days when you are going to be on your own at the gym. When that happens, avoid these common mistakes:
Don’t Stop Between Sets: When you are lifting weights, don’t give yourself too much time in between sets. If you stop and chat with a friend for a minute in between each round of ten then you aren’t getting as much out of your workout as you could. Instead of stopping to take turns, you and your friend can each work out on a different machine that targets similar muscles and switch back and forth between sets.
Don’t commit yourself to one workout: While walking and yoga are great workout regimens, you will improve your strength and flexibility the most by incorporating a bit of variety into your workout. By switching up your activities throughout the week, you are less likely to hit a plateau.
Remember your core: As you go back and forth between upper-body and lower-body workouts it can be easy to forget that there is another third of your body you need to pay attention to. Abdominal workouts will strengthen your core, stabilize your body and protect your back.
Don’t leave the gym disappointed. You can get more out of your workout and enhance the effects of your medical weight loss program by avoiding these common exercise pitfalls.