Getting started is the hardest thing to do.  Wasn’t there a song by that title?  Anyway, maybe it could be a little easier if you know a few of the common beginner mistakes and how to avoid them.  Who better to learn from than someone that’s made most of these mistakes himself!

When you are beginning, you will most likely see progress quickly.  Because of this, it may be hard to know if you are creating any bad habits that will hamper further development after the beginner gains have subsided.    This is a serious hurdle for a lot of people.  When you see such great progress when you start and then you level off a bit, it gets difficult.  It is easy to feel as though your efforts are in vain.  Hopefully some of these common pitfalls will make it a little easier to power through it.

1. Trying to do too much

You may be like me when I started.  I hadn’t worked out in ten years.  If that is the case, the best advice I can possibly give you is to start slow.  I had a couple of friends of mine try to do a “bootcamp” the week after they started working out.  I do believe that if they had access to a wheelchair the next day, they would’ve used it.  They hurt so much from the bootcamp, they missed the next three days in the gym.  You didn’t get in the shape you’re in overnight, you won’t look like a Men’s Health cover model overnight either.   

2.  Creating your own routine

If you’ve read my other blogs, you’ll probably think I sound like a broken record.  I made this mistake in the beginning and I feel I would’ve seen greater gains had I used a professionally designed routine.  I’m here to tell you this doesn’t mean you have to hire a personal trainer.  There are large number of pre-made, professionally designed routines on the internet and in your local book store.  I’ve mentioned quite a few well known and reputable  fitness experts here.  You know what your goals are so find one that will help you achieve them.

3.  Not drinking enough water

Yep, this was a major mistake I made.  It wasn’t that I wasn’t getting enough liquids.  I was drinking plenty of diet sodas but they are NOT a substitute for water.  It is recommended that you drink eight 8-ounce cups each day.  Personally, I would say you need more than that.  Not only does water keep you adequately hydrated but it also helps curb your appetite if you drink a glass when you are hungry.  Oh, and drink it cold.  You’re body will work harder to warm the water up during digestion and you will actually burn an extra calorie or two.

4.  Not setting attainable, short-term goals

When you are just beginning, don’t have your only goal to be “to lose weight”.  It is fine to have long term goals but, for motivation sake, you should constantly have short term goals that are attainable in a fairly short amount of time.  For example, my long term goal may be to lose 100 lbs.  With that, I should have multiple short term goals so I can monitor my progress and maintain my motivation.  I might have a few short term goals such as: get to the gym 5 days per week for a month, increase my bench press by 10%, jog an 8 minute mile, participate in a 5k, lose 15 pounds, etc.  Write the goals down and check them off one by one.  Trust me, it is FUN hitting these goals!

5.  Keeping your ‘fat’ clothes

If you are losing weight, you’re going to have to buy some new clothes.  When you reach that point, don’t keep your fat clothes in your closet!  Donate them to a local charity.  If these clothes are in your closet, it actually makes it easier to fall back on them.  Plus, if you’re cheap like me, it can be a deterrent from regaining the weight if you know you’ll have to buy them all over again.  With all this being said, I highly recommend keeping one pair of ‘fat’ pants.  It feels so good to put them on after you lose some weight and see how far you have progressed.  Not only that but they make for great ‘after’ pictures!

6.  Not remembering the 80-20 rule

The 80-20 rule is one that is often forgotten.  You make 80% of your weight loss progress through nutrition and diet.  You make 20% of your progress through exercise.  Diet and exercise are a package deal.  You should not do one without the other.  I know people that started a fitness program to lose weight but didn’t change their eating habits.  It doesn’t work…at least not well.  You may make some very minor progress but the most progress you’ll make is in frustrating yourself.  Many, many people diet without exercise.  While you can lose a significant amount of weight, a good amount of that weight will be muscle.  Sure, you’ll be thinner but you’ll be much weaker as well.

7.  Not getting enough sleep

Guilty as charged!  This is the toughest one for me and I’ll explain why.  I have a 5 year-old son that really doesn’t like to sleep.  I know that if I try to workout in the evening, it just won’t work.  The gym is very crowded and I’m exhausted from a full day at work.  Because of this, I choose to workout before work.  I get up at 4:30 am and I’m at the gym at 5:30 am.  My son tends to finally pass out around 10 pm.  I consider the time after he goes to bed till when I go to bed to be my downtime.  The time I can spend with my wife.  Because of this, I end up finally stumbling to bed around 11:00 pm sometimes.  That gives me a whopping 5 1/2 hours of sleep.  That isn’t near enough.  I know this and I’m still working to fix it.  You must sleep for your body to repair itself.  Shorting your sleep will cause your workout intensity to suffer and will slow your progress tremendously.  The recommendation is 7-8 hours of sleep per night.  If you can’t get that, you should make every attempt to grab a nap during the day…maybe at lunch.

8.  Beating yourself up if you slip

Nobody is perfect.  Odds are that you will slip at some point in your fat loss efforts.  I’m here to tell you that it is OK!  Unfortunately, many people will beat themselves up for slipping here and there or even just stop trying all together.  Here’s the deal.  If you slip, just make sure to get back on the horse the next day.  You aren’t going to negate all of your progress with one hiccup.  In fact, a slip every now and then may even be the thing you need to bust through a plateau. 

9.  Not doing some form of cardio

Yes, lifting weights does help in the fat loss efforts but you will certainly be doing your body a disservice if you aren’t doing some form of cardio.  Whether it be steady state or HIIT

10.  Not having fun

If you aren’t enjoying something, the odds are that you will not continue to do it.  Do you find the treadmill to be unbearably boring?  Hit the trails outside!  Are you dreading going to the gym and doing the same routine you’ve been doing for months?  Change it up!  If you aren’t having fun or getting some enjoyment out of it, you aren’t going to stick with it.  Find what you like and just do it.

Do you have any other ideas to add?  Just leave them in the comments below!