7 Worst fitness mistakes for those new to training in the UAE

Avoid some of the worst mistakes you can make if you are new to training and exercising in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah with these simple but effective tips.
7 of the worst fitness mistakes in the UAE

Some of the worst mistakes you can make when training in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah

Article Contributor: Andrew

When you’re new to training and exercise in the UAE mistakes can easily and quickly happen. The problem is, unless you correct these mistakes soon they will become a habit and can then be harder to fix.

We all make mistakes when training, even professionals. But, the fewer mistakes you make the more likely you are to achieve your fitness goals safely and effectively.

Of course one sure fire way to ensure you don’t make too many mistakes which can ultimately cause problems with your progress is to use a fitness professional like a personal trainer in the UAE or a fitness coach. Using their knowledge and experience they can create a personal or group fitness program which is designed to eliminate mistakes.

Table Of Contents

Let’s take a look at some of the worst mistakes you can make in your fitness workouts

1. Mistake Number 1 - Not planning - failing to plan is planning to fail

Like anything in life. Sometimes you have to plan in order to get results. Lack of planning can mean you have no direction and ultimately no goals.

When it comes to health and fitness the vast majority of men and women in the UAE have a fitness goal. Much of the time that goal is weight loss or body transformation but of course this varies from one person to another.

So what do we mean by failing to plan?

Consider taking a long journey or even a vacation – this is similar to your fitness goal because it will take time and is a journey. When you start, you’ll normally put plans into action such as planning where to visit, stop offs if you’re travelling, where to eat and much more. Planning this way can make things go more smoothly without the risk of being disappointed.

The same applies to your health and fitness. If you plan your goals, plan when you’ll be training, pre plan your meals and more you’re far more likely to achieve your objectives.

Putting a plan into action is also a great way to get your motivation up and helps you focus. You can plan what training methods you will be using, how often you will be training and what intensity you will be training at.

It’s often important when planning to split your goals into smaller chunks. These are much easier to manage and they are much easier to achieve than saying ‘I want to lose 60lbs in six months’ or ‘I want a beach body in 3 months’

Planning also comes into play where proper nutrition is concerned too. Whether you want to lose weight with diet and exercise or you simply want to eat healthier, planning your meals ahead of time and even doing some meal-prep will help you stick to a diet and reduce the risk of snacking on unhealthy foods between meals.

2. Mistake Number 2 - Doing too much exercise too soon

Eagerness is a great thing but it can be a real problem too.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint. This rings true for most fitness goals in the UAE. If you’re eager to lose weight for example you might think that a quick fix diet and hours spent on the treadmill will do the trick. But, these quick fixes rarely work long term.

When you first start at the gym or training at home you’ll be full of energy and eager to get going. But, one of the worst things you can do is do too much exercise and training too soon.

This is one of the biggest problems that newbies face and all too often it puts them off going back to the gym or working out at home. There are a couple of reasons why you need to pull on the reins and stop yourself from overdoing it.

  • Injury. Injuries happen far too often for men and women who have no previous training experience. One of the main reasons they get injured is because they do too much exercise too soon. This can apply to weightlifting (lifting loads that are far too heavy), cardio fitness, Yoga and even dieting. Injuries caused by doing too much too soon can have both a detrimental effect on your ability to continue with your training but they also knock your confidence too. You might end up feeling like you don’t want to continue with your training goals.
  • Burn out. By doing too much exercise too soon you are bound to hit a wall and burn yourself out – both physically and emotionally. Any new habit takes time to fit in with your daily routine, exercise is no different. Unless you build up your intensity slowly and gradually you run the risk of completely burning out. This means you’ll feel exhausted and this has a knock on effect to other aspects of your life – social and work.
 
 

With these points in mind, take it easy and ease into your new routine. Don’t feel like you have to exercise every day and give yourself a break.

7 of the worst fitness mistakes in the UAE

3. Mistake Number 3 - Not enough variety in your workout routines

Unless you’re a robot, hitting only the treadmill day in, day out is going to become boring eventually. And, using the same training kit over and over again is probably not going to be beneficial for your fitness goals.

One of the mistakes you can make when starting a new fitness routine is not putting enough variety into your workout. This doesn’t just mean the kind of training equipment you use either.

Sometimes exercise and fitness do become boring. If you start to feel less than motivated to go to the gym in the UAE or workout as normal at home it might be time to spice up your program.

This can be as simple as adding a few new exercises that you haven’t done before or even learning a new fitness method like kickboxing in the UAE, swimming or even Pilates.

Even if you have a specific fitness goal there is no reason why you should stick with the same old training methods, plenty of additional training methods will provide the same benefits and sometimes be even better.

If you use, or are thinking about hiring a personal trainer in Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Sharjah they are ideally placed to help you add more variety to your workouts.

4. Mistake Number 4 - Not pushing yourself enough

Whether you are completely new to exercise and fitness or have been training for a while, unless you push yourself you’re not going to see or feel results.

Even if you are training for maintenance (weight, body shape, body toning) you have to put the effort in to keep looking and feeling good.

Any type of exercise, whether that’s cardio or weight training requires some effort on your part. How much effort really depends on your fitness goals.

It’s always a good idea to start gradually though and build up your strength or your cardio fitness over a period of time. As you feel your strength and endurance increase you can gradually increase your strength training and the time you spend doing cardio.

5. Mistake Number 5 - not working out correctly

If you are new to training this mistake is all too easy to make. Not working out correctly, or in other words not using correct technique and form has negative effects on both your body and mind.

If you don’t use correct form and technique it can lead to a couple of things:

  • Injuries. You might injure yourself easily if you don’t train correctly. Injuries don’t just come from lifting weight incorrectly or doing a Pilates pose the wrong way. Injuries can also occur if you don’t warm up and cool down too. Injuring yourself is no fun. It can put you back by several weeks in the case of a severe injury. It can also knock your confidence, leading to a lack of motivation which ultimately can lead to you giving up and being back at square one.
  • Results. If you train using bad techniques or bad habits it can also have a negative effect on your goals. The reason for this is because unless you work your muscles correctly, using correct form the results you see might not be great.

The same applies to various exercise methods like Yoga and Pilates. Doing these means you have to use proper form to get the most benefit from each pose.

Healthy Isnt A Goal But A Way Of Living - UAE Personal Trainers
Take Care Of Your Body - UAE Personal Trainers

6. Mistake Number 6 - You refuel too much

Many men and women in the UAE think that because they work out intensely they can then eat what they want, when they want.

You will definitely be burning more calories when you workout but maybe not as much as you think or as much as you consume.

This is especially true if you’re trying to lose weight. Weight loss occurs when you are in a calorie deficit. In other words, you are burning more calories than you are consuming.

If you overeat, just because you think you are able too because of exercise you’re just defeating the object.

Put it this way. When you fill up your car with gas you don’t over fill it for it to run and do its job. The same applies to the human body, there is no need to constantly overfill it for it to work effectively.

7. Mistake Number 7 - You concentrate too much on cardio based exercise routines

You might feel that cardio is the best exercise type for you because of your fitness goals. This usually applies to men and women in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah who want to lose weight and get fitter in general.

But, it’s often a mistake to solely concentrate on doing cardio all the time. Cardio based exercises are great for losing weight and general fitness but if you want to tone your body too and increase your muscles you need to look into doing more strength based training.

Recent studies have also shown that as we age doing more strength training is just as important as doing cardio. It helps improve your bone strength and density, helps your muscles remain strong and active which can really help with mobility.

In Summary.....

When you start on your health and fitness journey in the UAE mistakes are inevitable. However, the sooner you fix these mistakes the less likely they are to become a habit which can really hamper your results.

If in doubt, speak with a professional male or female personal trainer in your location area of Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Sharjah for full advice.

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