AlchemyFit.com

There are many mistakes people make when working out. People who are new to exercise don’t know what to do and those who have been working out for years are stuck in their ways. Here are the 3 most common mistakes you don’t know you’re making:

1. Using light weights to “tone up”

If only I had a dollar for each time I heard this. Most people in America right now will tell you that their dominant fitness goal is to lose weight and “tone up”. Exercise physiologists and personal training purists cringe at hearing the word “toning” when used to describe a leaner physique. The scientific definition of muscle tone is the continual and passive partial contraction of the muscle in a relaxed state. It is an involuntary action that has nothing to do with how your body looks.

The common definition of “toning” is what I’ll be describing here. People go to the gym and start pumping out 15-20 repetitions of an exercise in order to increase their definition. However, it isn’t the most efficient use of their time. When you are working out, each set and rep range produces specific results in your body. This is called the S.A.I.D principle which stands for Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands. Using a rep range of 15-20 repetitions, you will increase your muscle endurance and stimulate minimal muscle growth. That being said (no pun intended), the best way to “tone up” is to use a 6-12 rep range with a moderate/heavy weight which stimulates maximal muscular hypertrophy. It will stimulate your body to grow and maintain your muscles.

Your diet and cardiovascular exercise are also factors hat determine how fast you see your results. If you are overweight, you want to have a caloric deficit to burn off excess body fat while maintaining the muscle. You should include 4-6 days of 30-45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise to help burn the fat. If you are very thin, you want to have a caloric surplus to grow lean muscle and keep cardio to a minimum.

2. Doing cardiovascular exercise before resistance training

To get the most bang for your buck in regards to your workout time, do your cardiovascular exercise after resistance training. Many people do 30-45 minutes of cardio before hitting the weights for 15-20 minutes. Then they wonder why they aren’t seeing results. If you do a cardio workout before doing weight training, you will use up too much energy and you will not be able to do as much weight. You will have to resort to lighter weights which don’t stimulate muscle growth as effectively.

A better method is to warm up for 5-10 minutes doing any type of cardio. Proceed to do 30-50 minutes of weight training and finish up with about 15-30 minutes of cardio. Doing it in this order will also increase your fat burning potential. By doing the weights first, you use up all of your glycogen stores and you will be burning a higher percentage of body fat during the cardio portion of your workout. Glycogen is stored carbohydrates that your body uses for energy. Once that is gone, your body will break down another type of stored energy – body fat.

3. Not eating after a workout

This has to be one of the worst things you can do if you are trying to lose weight or build muscle. People think that when they work out and burn off calories, that they aren’t supposed to eat afterward. I see the train of thought, however it is wrong. If you fail to eat after your workout, you basically negate any positive benefits from your workouts. Even worse, you may be slowing down your metabolism even further. After an intense workout, your body needs protein and carbohydrates to start the recovery process. If you fail to get something to eat within the first hour or completely skip a meal, you will go into a catabolic state. A catabolic state is when your body starts to break down muscle tissue for energy. The goal of exercise is to grow or maintain lean muscle not to destroy it!

The best thing to eat after a workout is a shake with a 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein. For some people that may mean 40 grams of carbs and 20 grams of protein. Adjust according to your body weight and goals. The shake is perfect after a workout because it is digested rapidly. Try to avoid anything fatty at this time as it will slow digestion. The goal is to replenish your muscle glycogen and get into an anabolic state.