A successful fitness journey is not just made of endless training sessions and gym memberships: a structured organization and mental preparation are just as important as lifting weights and running on that treadmill
The fitness industry gets a bad wrap, but it’s fascinating because the depth of health and wellness is so vast. What genuinely does work for one person might completely differ from someone else. If this is a new venture, the best practice you can take is to start broad and narrow from there.
In the beginning, focusing on steering clear of 3 common mistakes will set you up well:
Not having a structured plan
If you had a doctor's appointment and the doctor didn’t look at your notes, didn’t know who you were, or seemed to have very little knowledge of where to start, do you think they could make you better? It’s unlikely you’ll get the result that you’re seeking.
The same goes for your first sessions in the gym. In the beginning, you have the opportunity to make the most progress in a short amount of time, because it’s so new. Yet many new gym-goers spin their wheels moving around cardio equipment never brave enough to venture further afield. Following a plan will make your sessions efficient on time and effort. It will make sure that what you’re working on in that hour is specific to your goal and it will see you having greater returns on how you look and feel too. No matter your goal, Technogym App can guide you and assure you that when you get on the gym floor, you’re crystal clear on how to get the most from today's session.
Doing too much too soon, and getting burned out
It’s great how invested you’ve become, but there’s such a thing as too much training. Any well-programmed training regime will have rest in mind, as although it’s different for each of us, there is only so much you can recover from.
If you want to go far, go slow. The best advice you can take is that results take time to set in, and there's a paradox that even if you could get there faster, what use is it if you get burned out or injured in the process? A minimal effective dose would be preferable for long-term success. Ask ‘what is the minimum I can do that gets the maximum results?’ It’s not laziness, it’s a play for longevity.
Trying to do it all alone, without asking for help
You’ve been putting off your first session for a month despite paying membership, it’s just demotivating. A study surveyed 2000 adults and found that 25% admitted to not knowing what they were doing in the gym. A further 23% said they were too embarrassed to use the equipment.
The gym can be a daunting place but it’s important to remember, that the only difference between you and the people who look like they know what they’re doing is they started earlier: we were all beginners once. As mentioned above, the early days are when you first start to reap some great rewards, so time spent unsure of what to do is time wasted. By far the best way to get started is to recruit a friend whose session you can tag along. It allows you to scope out the gym space, feel comfortable and learn how everything works.
