Common Fitness Mistakes
Whew, last week was challenging.
Daphne came down with the flu right before Christmas. She's feeling better now, but that 104.5-degree fever was scary.
Needless to say, I missed a few workouts last week due to icy roads, sickness, and work deadlines.
Life happens, and sometimes, our daily responsibilities become more important than keeping a strict gym schedule.
When I finally made it back to the gym, there was no impact to my progress. If anything, I felt stronger after resting.
To the busy parents this holiday season: if you've fallen out of your routine, don't stress. Try to get your steps in, eat mindfully, and pick back up when you can.
Trust me, you won't lose your progress in a week.
Before we dive into this week’s content, I have a few exciting announcements.
what’s new
As you know, I'm passionate about core rehabilitation and human movement. I’ve enrolled in the NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist course and will be adding that designation to my resume in early 2025.
I recently crossed 50k followers on Instagram. I am so thankful for this milestone! My goal is to create fun and authentic fitness content that helps busy women see meaningful results in less time.
Thank you for being here!
on my radar this week
Are you making these 7 fitness mistakes?
Since this time of year is so hectic, I thought it would be a good idea to update an older post about workout efficiency.
If you're a busy person, I have good news: you can see great results in less time with the right strategy. Today, let's break down the 7 biggest time-wasters I see and how to avoid them.
1. Time Waster #1: Conflicting Goals
In the gym, you need to know exactly what you're trying to accomplish. I'd recommend picking ONE of these goals per programming cycle, since they each require a different training and nutrition strategy:
Strength
Hypertrophy (Muscle Growth/Size)
Fat Loss
2. Time Waster #2: Too Many Isolation Exercises
You don't need 10 exercises per session. If done with proper form and progression, 3-4 compound exercises is enough to see fantastic, full-body results.
3. Time Waster #3: Not Using Progressive Overload
You must progress your exercises over time by adding weight or reps. Although there are many ways to make an exercise “harder” (like adding pauses, slowing the tempo, and increasing ROM), I don't consider those progressive overload because they are difficult to measure.
4. Time Waster #4: Too Many Duplicate Exercises
Reverse lunges and Bulgarian split squats are similar unilateral exercises that train the glutes. You don't need to double up on those in the same session. Instead, I'd recommend hitting the glutes from different angles.
A sample glute-focused leg day could look like:
Romanian deadlifts - trains glutes in lengthened position
Kas glute bridges - trains glutes in shortened position
A unilateral exercise - great for balance and core strength
Then lastly, an isolation exercise like cable kickbacks
5. Time Waster #5: Not Doing Supersets
Studies show that doing agonist-antagonist supersets, or performing two exercises back-to-back that train opposite muscle groups, is just as effective for hypertrophy as traditional sets. Use this to your advantage and cut your training time in half.
6. Time Waster #6: Not Paying Attention to Details
Small details like using correct form, tracking your rest times, and improving your focus often go unnoticed, but they're really important.
7. Time Waster #7: Bad Diet
You can't out-train a bad diet. Eat mostly colorful, nutrient-dense foods and build meals and snacks around a lean protein source.
It's ok to cut corners by using processed, frozen, or canned foods - they are not off limits, and can be great for busy people. Just be sure to choose options without added sauces, breading, or sugar.
It can also help to track your food in an app like My Fitness Pal. As a rough guideline, women in their 30s should aim for a 40C/30F/30P macros split.
your homework from me
This week, I'll challenge you to become more efficient in the gym.
Identify one time-waster from this list, and do your best to improve upon that this week.
Having conflicting goals
Doing too many isolation exercises per session
Not using progressive overload
Doing too many duplicate exercises
Not doing agonist-antagonist supersets
Not paying attention to training details
Eating a poor diet
If you have multiple habits that you'd like to fix, don't stress or overload yourself. I'd recommend picking only one area of improvement at a time. When that becomes easier, add another. Then another.
Progress takes time, and fitness is a lifelong journey.
See you next week!