Working out what is the best training plan and regime for your time spent at the gym can take a while.  It can depend on what you want to achieve from your work out sessions, how much time you have and what exercises keep your interest.  It is easy to make mistakes in your exercise planning, and there are many things to take into consideration.  Whether you are new to the gym or have been going for years, whether you’re an expert or not, we can all make mistakes, and taking a few things into consideration can get you back on the right track.  An advisor from a Birmingham gym gives these following tips.

Warming up:  Make sure that when you warm up for you workout, you are warming up the correct muscle groups.  For instance, if you are working on your upper body strength, try rowing as a warm up exercise.  If you’re working on your cardio, warm up at thirty to sixty percent of the race pace.

Directionless exercise: Exercise is an enjoyable past time in itself, but sometimes you can risk it becoming aimless.  Ensure that you always have a goal or a direction, whether long term, short term or both.  This can keep you motivated and you can track your progress and see the improvements you are making to your body and your mind.  A personal trainer can help you think of both short and long term goals if you are stuck for achievable ideas.

Overly repetitive routines: Once we have found something we like doing or think we are better at, we like to stick to it as we feel we are in a ‘safe’ zone.  Try to avoid just sticking to the tried and tested though, change your routine every four to six weeks.  If you don’t do this you will probably stop seeing results as your body will have achieved the most that it can.  Try to compliment your gym workout with other exercise classes too.

Frequency:  You might think that going to the gym every day is the best way to achieve your fitness goals, but the reality of this is that it is not sustainable.  If you go every day you might start to find your workout boring, and your motivation levels may drop.  If you include days resting into your routine you’ll feel less pressure, and you’ll be less likely to punish yourself for missing a day.  It’s a fine balance to keep yourself motivated!

Mind over Body?:  A tough day at work can leave you mentally exhausted and in no mood for a workout, so you may decide to skip it, go to bed early but then cannot sleep.  This is a familiar scenario for many of us and it is due to confusing a tired mind with a tired body.  Just because your brain is tired does not mean your body does not want a work out, quite the opposite in fact, especially if you have just been sitting at a desk all day.