7 exercise mistakes

As a Personal Trainer in North London I have helped hundred’s of clients reach their goals. Often when clients come to me for help, I see the same reoccurring mistakes again and again. By correcting these 7 issues, you will see both better fat loss results and find yourself free from training related injuries.

1. Technique is king
Time and time again I look around the gym and see people using bad technique. Not only will this lessen the effect of an exercise and lead to less results in the gym, it is also asking for an injury. In the world of Fat Loss, it is critical that you use good technique in your exercises. Maintaining correct form will ensure that you use the right motor patterns and therefore recruit more of the right muscles you want to work.

2. Reduce rest periods
Idly strolling from one machine to the next or chatting to your best friend between sets is NOT going to get rid of that unwanted FAT. One of the best ways to get rid of fat is by reducing the rest intervals of your exercises. Research has shown this method of exercise to burn a massive amount of calories and significantly boost your metabolism.

3. Don’t be scared to go heavy
Doing low weights and high reps (think pink dumbbells lifting more that 25 times) is near enough a complete waste of time when it comes to fat loss. You need to challenge your body and recruit muscle. Even the ladies! By lifting challenging weights, you will increase your lean muscle tissue, leading to a boost in your metabolism and ultimately burning more fat. Try lifting a weight that you would struggle to lift more than 12 times.

4. Use semi – specific warm up patterns
Make sure you have a proper warm up; this will ready the body for exercise reducing the risk of injury. You may have heard of the saying ‘Grease the Groove’. This is exactly what you need to do in your exercise programs. If you’re going to be doing heavy squats then start your program off with some bodyweight squats then work into some bodyweight lunges and so on until the blood is pumping around your body.

5. Stretch tight muscles
Everybody is made up and designed differently. Some people have tight hamstring and some have tight hips. I would highly suggest seeking the advice of a professional who can tell you exactly what muscles are tight. That way you can save time by only stretching your tight muscles. This will ultimately lead to better posture and a reduction in injury.
Ps – By stretching muscles that are already very flexible you are asking for trouble. Muscles need a certain amount of both flexibility and stability.

6. Strengthen weak muscles
This works in the exact same manner as my previous point. There is no point continually strengthening already strong muscles. You are only as strong as your weakest link. If you continually neglect your weak muscles you will soon enough find yourself out of balance and heading towards an injury.

7. Over Training
Training everyday for hours on end will not help you lose fat. You will stress your body leading to an increase in cortisol (belly fat storing hormone) and there is a good chance you will end up with an injury from overdoing it. Train smart and take rest days allowing your body to recover and progress. I would recommend 3 full body workouts a week of no more than 1 hour. This method of fat loss has shown success time and time again in every one of my clients.

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