Get Fit (Not to Be Tied)

Resolve to Do it Right: Ten Fitness Mistakes

So this year, you're ALL about stripping that spare tire, unloading some junk from the trunk, and more importantly, making sure the old engine is running in top form so you're road-worthy for many years to come. Great! Perhaps you've even launched an ambitious fitness routine. You're picking up steam and moving right along, until TWANG! Something inside your body just did a puling-pinching-squeezing-intensely-hurting thing.

And just like that, you're out of commission. Forget your prgoress. You'll be slumped in the recliner, or stretched out on your back, while those newly-swollen muscles you worked so hard to build go slack and soft.

Accidents and injuries aren't always preventable, but you can make some specific efforts to safeguard your health and maximize the effectiveness of a new or adanced workout routine. The following mistakes represent som eof the mnost common errors people make in their efforts to get fit and fabulous. Don't be a dumbbell- exercise right!

1.Not Maintaining Proper Posture and Form. Working out is a strain. It's supposed to be. But you have to maintain proper form, or you'll likely do as much harm as good. If you can't keep form, you need to slow down and take it easier. No one will care how great your abs look if your back is curved like a certain former resident of Notre Dame.

2.Doing Cardio But Not Weight-Training (or vice-versa). These two types of exercise serve two different functions. Cardio won't build a lot of muscle, but it's great for burning calories and working your heart and lungs.Weight training provides strength, tone, and muscle mass. Both, in reasonable amounts, are important to overall fitness.

3.Exercising Fast: Working through reps quickly might make you look like the bionic man (or woman), but it's really self-defeating. Complete reps slowly to maximize the effectiveness of each movement.

4.Stopping at DQ, Because You "Earned It" At the Gym. You KNOW what's wrong with this logic. A treat now and then is a must, but making a routine of running for twenty and then downing a cookie dough Blizzard is not a winning scenario.

5. Neglecting Your Core. The core region of the body-most basically, the area around your trunk and pelvis- provides support for the rest of it. A weak core can contribute to mistake #1 on the list, and to abominations like the dreaded back injury. Make sure to train your core muscles, not just the parts of you that show in shorts and tank tops.

6. Starving Yourself to Drop Pounds. This is the worst. idea. ever. It's a great way to assure that you gain back anything you initially lose. Note also, that in starvation, your body does not distinguish between fat and muscle. It will burn through both to function. Starve yourself and you may end up just as heavy as you were to start with, but with even less muscle tone.

7. Comparing Yourself to Others. Every body is different, and every fitness routine should be, as well. Consider meeting with a fitness instructor at least initially, to work out a routine that suits your lifestyle and will help meet goals you've defined for yourself.

8. Over-Training. Launch into an all-out fitness blitz, and you may burn out fast and utterly. Take on a new or advancing fitness routine that's reasonable, and something you can maintain for the long-term.

9. Skipping the Warm-Up/Cool-Down: You let your car warm up when it's 20 below, for goodness sake, let your body warm up before you exercise it! Warrming up and cooling down are essential to avoiding injury and unnecessary soreness.

10.Forgetting to Stay Hydrated. Your body's working hard while you exercise, and it's important to make sure you drink plenty when. A can of Mountian Dew will not suffice. Be careful, similarly, about exercising in intense heat. Your internal temperature can rise dangerously.