avatarMike Toney-Hoffman

Summary

The article discusses common mistakes people make in their fitness routines, emphasizing the importance of consistency, pushing one's limits, and efficient use of time to improve gym performance.

Abstract

The fitness article titled "This is Why You Suck at Exercising" on the website undefined provides insights into why individuals may struggle to see results from their workout routines. It highlights that inconsistency in exercise and diet is a major barrier to a healthy lifestyle. The author suggests that forming habits that fit into one's schedule is crucial for maintaining a consistent routine. The article also points out that many people do not push themselves hard enough, sticking to familiar workouts that no longer challenge their bodies. It recommends incorporating workouts that are difficult and less favored to achieve better results. Additionally, the piece criticizes the habit of wasting time at the gym, suggesting that shorter, more intense workouts with muscles under tension until failure are more effective than longer sessions with extended breaks. The author encourages readers to surprise their bodies with new exercises and variations to prevent plateaus and advocates for personal accountability to maximize gym time.

Opinions

  • Consistency is key to a healthy lifestyle, and habits should be formed in a way that they are not easily broken.
  • People often give up on workouts too early and need to incorporate challenging exercises that they typically avoid.
  • Spending excessive time at the gym without focus is counterproductive; workouts should be intense and efficient.
  • Muscle failure, not a set number of reps or mental limitations, should dictate the end of a workout set.
  • It's important to keep the body guessing by switching up exercises and trying new routines to avoid stagnation.
  • Personal accountability and not wasting time at the gym are essential for achieving fitness goals.

Fitness | Health | ILLUMINATION

This is Why You Suck at Exercising

Learn how not to suck at the gym.

Photo by Hayley Kim Design on Unsplash

You are not consistent

The most important aspect of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is consistency. Going to the gym for a week and then taking a whole week off is not productive. The same goes for a healthy diet. You need to find ways to consistently eat healthier and exercise. Many people will form great habits just to break them in a few weeks. Build habits that you are not likely to break easily because they fit into your schedule.

Exercising a little bit each day is a lot better than exercising hard for one week just to quit. Letting your body recover is good, but you don’t want to become complacent. There is a fine balance between exercising too much and resting too much. It is different for everybody, so you should focus on doing what feels good for your body.

You don’t push yourself

Another reason you suck at the gym is that you give up on workouts too early. You do the same workouts you’ve been doing all your life. Your body is used to these workouts and the benefits slowly begin to fade. While having a workout schedule is great, your body will eventually master the workouts that you constantly do.

The key to pushing yourself is finding the workouts that you absolutely hate. Write down the workout that comes to mind. This is the exact workout you want to be doing. Instead of skipping over it like you always do, start doing this workout more often. Master it better than the four workouts you’ve been doing your whole life. Push yourself.

You waste time

You suck at exercising because you are just waiting for the hour you pledged to stay at the gym to pass. You do one set of an exercise and then sit on your phone for a few minutes until your next set. Stop wasting your time and keep your muscles under tension!

Did you know that if you focused on keeping your muscles under tension you would get a much better workout in a shorter time? Screw a 3-minute break in between your 10 rep sets. Keep that exercise going until your body fails. If you normally do 3 sets of 10, you are wasting your time. Do 3 sets of repping until your muscles fail. Don’t sit around limiting yourself when your body can keep going.

Sets should end due to physical failure, not a mental failure or a number.

Bottom line

Some of the tips in this post will not match up with everybody’s style of exercising. I wrote it to inspire people to push themselves. If you are hitting your max weight on bench press I do not expect you to keep your muscles under tension for 3 times the amount of reps.

I am guilty of doing many of the same exercises as well. However, I switch them up a lot and push myself each day. Some of the exercises I do every day include pull-ups, leg raises, and pushups. When I do pushups, sometimes I will do them on a Bosu ball to add more core concentration to it. I will do leg raises hanging from a pull-up bar some days, and other days on the dip bars. For pull-ups, I can switch up my grips from wide to narrow or many other variations.

The point is you need to keep surprising your body. If you do the same workouts every day, eventually your body will not benefit much from it. Instead, master workouts and try different variations of them. You should also be trying new workouts and increasing the weight you are using. Hold yourself accountable and don’t waste your time at the gym.

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Fitness
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