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10 Most Common Workout Goofs

Want to maximize your workout, stop wasting time and reduce your risk of injury? Here are the 10 of the most common workout goofs that we've come across:

Skipping your warm-up.
Muscles need time to adjust to the demands placed on them during exercise. Before hitting the weight room or jumping into your regular cardio workout, you should take a few minutes to gently walk, bike or whatever you choose. Breaking a light sweat will get your blood pumping, warm up muscles and ligaments, greatly reduce your risk of injury and increase the effectiveness of your workout.

Don't be a jerk! If you have to jerk a weight around, you're most likely jerking other muscles as well. This is can lead to strain and injury with very little benefit or muscle gain. The most effective way to train your muscles is to control the weight and lifting deliberately.

Not stretching. Flexible muscles are far less likely to be pulled and injured than tight ones. Stretch before a heavy workout or after your workout as a warm-down. Never stretch a muscle without warming up first to reduce your risk of injury even further. Regular stretching greatly increases your flexibility.

Lifting like you're Arnold. Don't lift to try and impress people at the gym. Lifting too much weight is the best way to injure yourself. Besides... the poor technique and sloppy form that happens when people lift too much is a dead giveaway. Gradual, progressive resistance is a far more effective and safe way to increase muscle strength.

Being a Weekend Warrior. while getting in a workout on the weekend is a great idea.... trying to fit a week's worth of exercise into a Saturday afternoon is just asking for trouble. It's more effective and safer to workout at a lower intensity a couple times throughout the week.

Drink like there's no tomorrow! Water is a necessity and most of us plod through life in a current state of dehydration! Don't wait until you feel thirsty... anticipate the amount of fluids being lost during exercise. Drink plenty of fluids before, during and after your workout. During your workout you should drink 4-8 ounces every 15-20 minutes.

Are you climbing or carrying? What's the point of mounting the treadmill or stairclimber, cranking it to the highest level and then supporting your body weight on the rails? It's much more effective, not to mention easier on your wrists and elbows, to lower the intensity to a level that allows you to maintain good posture while lightly resting your hands on the rails for balance.

Avoid eating for a marathon. Most people tend to eat more when working out because they feel they need it or they can afford the extra calories. While it's true that your caloric needs will increase, most of us tend to over do it and eat more calories than needed. It's important to know how many calories you need for your goals. More than guessing... figure out how many calories you need for basal metabolic activity, add the calories from your daily exercise and then adjust your diet up or down depending on your goals.

Don't be a shifter and loose that shimmy-shimmy! The stairmaster and elliptical machines are great cardio exercise choices. However, 9 out of 10 people are doing it incorrectly and missing some of the benefits. Shifting your body weight from leg to leg builds momentum and reduces the use of your leg muscles. Along the same lines... shimming your shoulders or upper body back and forth also creates momentum (besides looking silly). Try to limit the movement of your upper body and let your legs do the work. You'll find the exercise is much harder.

Skipping your warm-down. Due to time constraints, many people head straight to the showers after their last repetition or as soon as the timer on the stairclimber runs out. Instead, take a few minutes to lower your heart rate towards its normal resting rate and stretch your recently-exercised muscles.

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