The Biggest Fitness Mistakes You’re Making (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this post, I covered how (1) undereating while trying to gain muscle, and (2) treating cardio/weights as enemies are some of the biggest fitness mistakes you're making! If those didn't apply to you, maybe these will…
Mistake #3: Being a "Lightweight" 😉
Some of us mentally divide the gym up this way:
Men and women, or "heavyweights" and "lightweights."
Psssh!!! You can imagine why I'm not too happy to hear this nonsense… not least because it prevents women from reaching their potential in the gym. A lot of us are under the very false impression that we should spend the whole time lifting our 3 lb dumbbells, and never progressing beyond that. We don't want to get all bulky and muscular, do we? (Sarcasm!!)
First of all, eye-roll at society thinking that's not super sexy.
Second of all, it's like people think they'll wake up one day and suddenly look like The Rock, and say, "Oh no! Too far!"In reality, for women to build any muscle at ALL…AKA, the coveted toned, lean look…we have to lift heavy enough to TEAR our muscle fibers. And not realizing that is one of the biggest fitness mistakes you could possibly make.
I know, it sounds painful, but they regrow better and stronger. And that's not going to happen with your 3-pound dumbbells. I mean, no judgment if you have to start there and can't lift heavier yet. But just know, that's a definite beginning point and not the endpoint!
Mistake #4: "I Need to Carb Load!"
You may have heard before that everyone should eat at least 150g of carbs a day, but that's just not true. Here's why there's no drawbacks, only benefits, to a low-carb diet:
The less carbs you consume, the less of an insulin spike from the glucose you'll experience. In the short term, this can lead to weight loss, as the insulin loss also encourages WATER-WEIGHT LOSS! Pretty cool, right?
But the long-term effect is better: that you won't be hungry all the time.
You see, as you may have already known, fuel from carbs is "quick energy"…It gets to you quickly, but it's also burned quickly, and then you're hungry again.
NOT all fuel is created equally!
And guess what? There's another big disadvantage to a high-carb diet: it causes you to accumulate more visceral fat than regular subcutaneous fat.
Now, "visceral fat" is a fancy name for "abdominal fat," and it's associated with being insulin-resistant, causing diabetes and heart issues. Plus, nobody really wants abdominal fat, do they?
This study showed that a majority of the TYPE of fat lost on a low-carb diet is abdominal fat. So if you were wondering how to get rid of stubborn belly fat, there's your answer.
Mistake #5: Not Contacting Me! 😉
But, maybe even after learning the biggest fitness mistakes, you feel even MORE like you don't know what you're doing! If you don't know where to start, then start with ME!!
Well, of course you can start with any personal trainer worth their salt…but I think with my variety of unique, proven workouts, and my years of nutrition study that evolves with the times, I'm a great pick for you.
