How does that saying go?
“Hindsight is always 20/20?”
Well I guess that’s how we get a little wiser, by making mistakes, fudge ups, & then looking back ????
So as I look back now, kicking myself a little, but being thankful for what I learnt…..
Here are my Top 10 Fitness Mistakes.
1. Not prioritising ‘the core’ (trunk) strength and endurance as an adolescent and into my early twenties.
I was a lanky 6ft 2′ teenager by the age of 14. Consequently, my lower back ached everywhere I went.
I had low back pain and ‘sciatica’ for a long time. It was only after doing a full year of Pilates at the age of 25 that this settled right down.
Nowadays, I do at least 1 core exercise every morning.
2. Locking my knees out on heavy leg press and squats.
This seemed to be a ‘old school myth,’ but to me now, does makes sense. We know that while heavy weights do help bone density, they can also sometimes wear the joints a bit.
I’m a little bow legged at the knees. So the inside of my knees close in on themselves. So when I lock my knees in full extension, there’s more pressure on the inside (medial) compartment, and the meniscal cartilage in there.
It also makes sense to me that if the knees aren’t locked out, the quadriceps at the front of the thighs stay under tension.
3. Trying to squat and leg press too deep for my given anatomy.
I went through a phase in my late twenties of trying to squat and leg press really deep, with heavy weight mind you, and likely damaged some cartilage in my hips (the labrum, to be exact).
I bought into the ‘mobility’ hype at the time, and tried to stretch beyond what the bony shape of my hips would allow.
4. Not prioritising cardio.
For too long, after I stopped Aussie Rules Football and long distance running, I neglected to work up a good huff!
Nowadays, I realise that cardio just makes life easier around the house and at work, with way more energy and less fatigue.
I’m still not a triathlete though ????
I’ll do 5 hard minutes on the assault bike almost every morning, walk the dog for 25 minutes 4 or 5 days a week, and do 12-20 laps in the pool.
I find that this alone is enough to maintain my stamina, and helps keep the waistline in check.
5. Not stretching the spine.
Once I started taking 4-5 minutes to stretch out my spine every morning, the upper back discomfort that I’d occasionally get just started to fade away.
(I’m sure getting the upper back stronger helped as well).
6. Reducing the weight.
I used to earn a decent weight on the bar or on the machine, then increase my reps in the next program and find myself needing to earn back the previous weight again.
These days I try to keep and improve the weight I have for each exercise, in sets of 6-12 reps.
7. Not warming up properly.
I’ve had a couple of little injuries from not warming up properly. A bit of cardio to get the body heat up and some warm ups sets with a lighter weight can do a world of good, especially on cold mornings!!
The synovial joints of the body literally produce more fluid for lubrication when we move!
8. Not eating enough calories.
On and off I’d be training without enough fuel to recover and drive my performance.
It can be a bit insane how much we need to eat to grow a bit of muscle tissue.
Lately I try to keep the quality of food really high, which allows me to eat more (5,000 cals a day at the moment) and perform better.
9. Eating too many refined carbs.
Just for me personally, all the pasta, rice and oats that I used to tuck into left me looking a bit ‘fluffy’ and messed with my digestion a bit.
I’m largely keto based now with not many carbs at all, but you do your research and do what’s best for you.
10. Sleeping in.
Most workouts I missed came from sleeping in!
This was usually due to drinking alcohol or watching movies the night before.
The next morning, I’d tell myself “I’ll go a little later, I’ll go a little later,” and then get distracted with other stuff.
Now I just workout first thing in the morning to get it out of the way, and it’s allowed me to build some good consistency.
So there you have it, a few reflections from little old me.
Like a lot of things, “take it with a grain of salt ” – take it or leave it, but just keep giving your best.
I’ll finish by asking, what have been some of your fitness mistakes?
– Ev ☺️