What’s the Biggest Mistake People Make at the Gym?

The biggest mistake most people make in the gym while trying to reach their weight loss goals is that they spend too much time doing “cardio” on machines like treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, etc. Media outlets seem to portray that long, slow and steady bouts of aerobics in conjunction with extremely light weights is the best way to burn fat and tone muscle. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

At Achieve Fitness, you won’t see the typical rows of machines that litter traditional gyms. Not that we’re against running or cycling in general – we actually encourage training for events such as triathlons or 5Ks as long as our members establish a base of strength first, and work to improve that base. The reason we see so many people get hurt with injuries like shin splints, knee pain, plantar fasciitis, etc. is that their joints and muscles aren’t adequately prepared to absorb the impact from an advanced activity like running.

“You cannot run to get fit; you must be fit to run” – Physical Therapist, Diane Lee

Along with reducing your risk for injury, proper strength training actually provides a far more dramatic boost to your metabolism than slow and steady aerobic training.  Muscle mass is metabolically “expensive “ – meaning it requires a lot of energy (i.e. calories) just to maintain. That means the more lean muscle mass you carry, the higher your metabolism is at rest. Since strength training has the highest impact on promoting muscle mass, that’s where the majority of your attention should be focused.

Unfortunately, strength training gets a bad rap for causing “bulky” muscles in females. The truth is, women just don’t have the hormonal profile to get big and bulky muscles. In fact, here’s a video of this years Miss America dispelling the myths that the media conveys.

http://talenstraining.tumblr.com/post/40498513601/getbulky-this-lady-just-won-miss-america-the

As you can see, more and more people are realizing the positive effects of strength training for both men and women. If you’re ready to start making your workouts more effective immediately, call us to set up a free strategy session at Achieve!

Train Hard,

The Achieve Fitness Team