Avoid the sophomore slump
Put rookie mistakes behind you as you move into the big leagues
You told yourself to get moving, and you’ve done it. Congrats.
You’ve even started liking the feeling of a good sweat. Congrats again.
But if you’re like most novice exercisers, you’re on your way to becoming a victim of your own success. How so? That first move from the couch to the gym offers an almost unmatched level of positive results. Not only is your body quick to react to a more active lifestyle, you start feeling good about yourself and your commitment to your health.
You’re stronger, fitter, you’ve got more energy and you’re sleeping better. You may even be feeling a little breathing room between you and the waistband of your jeans.
So thrilled are you about all the positives, you’re not prepared for the inevitable levelling of results that occurs a few months into your new fitness regimen.
Like the first 10 pounds of any diet, the first measures of success at the gym come relatively easily. The same can’t be said for the next level of results, which require more than just reducing couch time in favour of gym time.
With that in mind, it’s time to shed your rookie status and move into the big leagues. To do that, you need to get rid of some of those rookie habits that hold you back.
Here are a few common newbie mistakes as well as suggestions on how you can get more from your workout:
THINKING MORE IS BETTER
Now that you’re enjoying the results those first 150 minutes of exercise per week has garnered, you’re probably thinking that doubling your workout time will double the results. But it doesn’t work that way. Increasing exercise volume without a matching increase in exercise efficiency is not just a waste of time and energy, it can lead to injury.
Continuing success in the gym comes from spending your limited amount of training minutes effectively and efficiently. It also comes from keeping yourself motivated and injury-free, both of which are compromised when the sole goal of adding minutes to your workout is to impress both yourself and anyone who will listen with how much time you spend working up a sweat.
NOT HAVING A PLAN
Chances are that you started with a plan without even knowing it. What else do you call your goal of getting off the couch? But now that you’ve accomplished that first step, you need to set a new bar.
Whatever that new goal
is, you need to follow it up with a plan that includes not just how long and how often you’re going to work out, but what you’re going to do every time you pull on your workout clothes.
A plan as simple as hitting the treadmill for 30 minutes on Monday, doing a 20-minute interval workout followed by 15 minutes in the weight room on Wednesday and a yoga class on Friday is exactly the kind of preparation that pays off big.
GOING IT ON YOUR OWN
The majority of exercise sophomores make the wrong move by trying to do it on their own. By that I mean they try to realize their goals by copying what everyone else in the gym is doing instead of seeking expert advice.
Why do you need to invest in a trainer? Again, it comes down to the importance of a plan. To be clear, that plan isn’t the same as the one that fit guy or girl next to you is following. Nor is it one that you download off the Internet. The best approach is one you receive from a professional fitness trainer who looks at your goals, level of fitness and available time to exercise before putting together a six- to eight-week workout schedule designed exclusively for you.
CONCENTRATING ON YOUR STRENGTHS, NOT WEAKNESSES
Most of us naturally gravitate toward exercises and workouts that we’re good at and avoid those that we aren’t — the result being, as the saying goes, you’re only as strong as your weakest link. For instance, if you’re working hard to build upper-body strength but still struggle doing more than a few pushups, it could be that you lack the endurance in the core to support your efforts. Or, if lunges are a struggle despite working on your lower-body strength, it’s possible that poor balance is the culprit.
The best way to force yourself to hit those weak spots is to work those body parts or perform those exercises early in the workout. Not only will you benefit from getting it done before fatigue hits, there’s less of a chance of putting it off until the next time — something we’re all prone to do when we’re avoiding something we don’t like.