Weight training and resistance training are now becoming popular among women because of its many health benefits that range from improving mental health all the way to physical fitness.

Even though hitting the gym and lifting weights is good for your health, it’s important to know how to do it the right way. Like other sports and physical activities, when not done correctly, this can harm your progress as well as put you at risk of serious injury.

For women who don’t have much experience in weight training, it’s essential to adopt the fundamentals so women can also train productively and safely. The below points are five common mistakes women make and should avoid when hitting the gym.

1. Training With The Wrong Weight

When performing a weightlifting exercise, your form and technique are the most critical parts to perform the exercise successfully. If you aren’t using the right weight, you will harm your results as well as risk injury.

Choose a weight you can use that causes tension and enough resistance and where you can still perform the exercise with proper technique. If the weight is too heavy and compromises your form and technique, then it’s most probably too heavy for you.

2. Underestimating The Importance Of Recovery

With proper training, comes adequate rest. Women often Overtrain in the desire to reach personal goals sooner. This will result in stunted results, burnout and injury.

It is important to know what your body can handle and set a plan for yourself. A balanced diet, sufficient rest and a consistent training plan is the key to achieving your health goals and to get the best results from your weight lifting activity.

3. Listening To The Wrong Advice

Women who are new to the gym or have never had weight lifting or resistance training, are usually the most vulnerable to this. When it comes to weightlifting, there are many approaches to getting results. However, just because someone you know followed a particular plan, doesn’t mean you should do the same.

As everyone’s body and personal targets are different, there will always be a different approach to achieving the results you desire. The best available resources to learn from are from personal trainers, dieticians, physicians and your general health practitioner. You need to set objectives, create schedules and measure performance based on yourself and not others.

4. Overdoing Cardio And Neglecting Weight Lifting

Some women often believe that cardio activities such as running, sprinting, swimming or cycling are the only ways for fat loss, and that weight lifting and resistance training are more suitable for men. However, this is far from the truth. Though cardio exercises are great for fat loss, heavy resistance weight training is another way to burn calories, lose weight, while shaping, and defining your muscles and body.

By lifting weights, you increase and strengthen muscle, by increasing muscle, you increase your metabolism. By increasing your metabolism, the quicker your body can burn fat. Weightlifting needs to be supplemented into your cardio training. This is the best way to lose weight. When one is imbalanced to the other, this can be counterproductive towards your results.

5. Not Learning The Proper Technique

Even by using light weights and low resistance for your exercises, having poor technique can put you under risk of injury as well as prolonging your results. Learning how to execute proper technique and form is essential to staying safe in the gym, and reaching all your targets.

Taking the time to learn exercises from people who have the experience can benefit you greatly. This way you’ll be able to stay safe when performing exercises, while also giving your body a proper workout to reach your fitness and health targets sooner.

Head over to the Okadoc app to immediately book an appointment with your health practitioner.