Mistakes That Can Ruin Even the Best Workouts

Whether you hit the gym, watch exercise videos at home or head outdoors for your own customized workout, you may have found that spending time exercising doesn’t necessarily guarantee results.

Over the years, I’ve been amazed at the number of people who work out regularly but don’t get the results they want. In most cases, this is because they make common mistakes that make their workouts less effective. These mistakes can sabotage good intentions, waste time and, in some cases, lead to serious injuries.

Here’s a list of six workout wreckers and how to avoid them.

Stretching: Of course you’re busy juggling life’s many demands and trying to find time to squeeze in a workout, so taking extra time to stretch may seem like a waste. The truth is, however, that flexible muscles are less likely to get strained or pulled than tight ones. Plus, one recent study showed that stretching combined with strength training can make you stronger than strength training alone.

It’s best to stretch between sets or immediately after your strength or aerobic workout. When your muscles are warm and pliable, they respond better to the stretches and your body feels less sore and stiff the next day.

Warming Up: Another common mistake is jumping right into your workout without giving your body a chance to warm up. I remember when I learned my lesson on this one. I was caught in traffic and was going to be 15 minutes late to teach my aerobics class. It needed to start on time, so I asked my assistant to lead the warmup without me.

After arriving, I immediately took over the class and jumped into intense aerobic activity. But after sitting in my car for so long and without warming up, I hadn’t given my muscles time to adjust to the demand. It was the worst workout of my life. I ran out of breath quickly and my whole body felt heavy and slow. I realized then how important it is to build up to your workout. A short warmup raises your core body temperature and gives you a chance to increase your heart rate gradually. This will make a big difference in your strength and endurance.

Watch the Weight: Another problem I see in the gym is people who try to lift more than their muscles can handle and end up jerking the weights. The best way to build strength is to control the weight--not let it control you. If you have to swing the weight, it’s probably too heavy. Excessive momentum takes resistance off the working muscles and transfers it to your joints and other muscles that are not prepared to work. Your back is particularly vulnerable to this. Remember to use slow, smooth movement to avoid strain and injury

Stair-Steppers: One of the biggest gym sins of all is committed by people on stair-steppers--the people who crank the machine to the highest level of difficulty, then spend the whole time leaning on the handrails. This leaning posture puts extra stress on your shoulders, elbows and wrists. And you aren’t getting the workout you think you are.

For an effective workout, adjust the intensity to the point at which you can maintain an upright position while using the handrails just for balance. This way, the large muscles in your legs will have to work to support all your weight and your heart will pump harder. You’ll burn more calories and build more muscle.

Focus: If you don’t focus on your exercising routines, you can waste a lot of time. You don’t need to overdo it, but you should concentrate on the effort your body is making and push yourself hard enough to work up a light sweat. When you’ve been doing the same routine for a while, challenge yourself by picking up the pace or changing the program. If you finish 15 repititions and feel like you could do more, go for heavier weights. When fatigue sets in, don’t cheat. Be extra careful with your technique near the end of each set.

Watch What You Eat: Consuming sports drinks and energy bars when you’re only doing a light or moderate workout can ruin your weight-loss efforts. Most experts agree that you only need drinks and energy bars when you’re exercising longer than two hours at a time. Beware that these products may have a calorie count roughly equal to what you just worked so hard to burn off. Instead, drink lots of plain water before, during and after your workouts. A healthy, low-fat diet fits most exercisers’ needs.

Since you’re investing your time and effort to improve your body, you might as well get the best return on that investment. If you keep these cautions in mind, you’ll likely reap better benefits for the time you invest in your workouts. And that’s not a bad deal.

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New York-based freelance writer Michele Bender contributed to this column.

* Karen Voight is a Los Angeles-based fitness expert whose column runs the first and third Mondays of each month. Her latest videos are “Ease Into Fitness” and “Yoga-Sculpt.” She can be reached by e-mail at kvoightla@aol.com.