Experts have underlined the need for maintaining a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and following a workout plan. Speaking with the media, Djordje Dukic, a freelance personal trainer Reps UAE Level 4 certified in Strength and Conditioning Training, shared a few mistakes fitness enthusiasts make in their journey and also provided tips on how to avoid them.

Not Warming Up Before Workout

Noting that people are sitting at their desk all day, Dukic stressed on ensuring a proper warm-up for optimizing gym performance and safety.

A proper warm up should be focused on mobilising your shoulders, thoracic spine, hips, and ankles. He affirmed that building strength and technique takes patience, adding that the process should not be rushed. He stated that lifting heavy weights is the only way to build up strength, however, lifting heavy every time is not sustainable. It is important to keep some days light to ensure that the progress goes for a long haul. Consistency is the key to achieving the goals.

It is important to keep in mind the seven basic movement patterns for the body when programming the daily or weekly workout routine: push, pull, squat, lunge, hinge, rotation and gait.

"Performing all of these movements will help you stimulate all the major muscle groups in your body," he added.

Here are some tips for your muscles from a physiotherapist:

· If your shoulder hurts, focus on your limited t-spine mobility.

· If your back hurts, focus on your hips and thoracic spine.

· If you are going to a specialist for knee pain and they are not assessing your hip and ankle mobility then you need to change the specialist.

· The worst strategy for dealing with shoulder, back, and knee pain is thinking that "the pain will go away in a week or two".

Nutrition: Quality Over Quantity

For both losing or gaining weight, it is important to focus on the quality of the food over the quantity. Many people focus on calories instead of the quality of the food. They rely on supplements instead of food which is also a bad choice.

There is a wide range of nutrition diets available today. All diets work by creating a caloric deficit. It is recommended to not measure yourself everyday as the number on the scale does not matter.

Here’s why:

· Your body composition keeps changing.

· Your weight fluctuates every day due to water retention and salt intake.

· Your weight does not show health.

· Just because someone is thin does not mean they are healthy.

Avoid distractions created by Social Media ‘Influencers'

According to the expert, the best way to select a trainer is through recommendations and knowledge. It is important that you find a trainer who helps in accomplishing your goals, not just gives you a good workout.

"Do not let anyone exhaust you or leave you extremely sore after every training session. If a trainer has thousands of followers on social media, it doesn’t mean he will help you achieve your goals," he added.

Experts urge fitness enthusiasts to not fall into the social media trap of attempting creative and crazy exercise variations. It is important to focus on simplicity.

 SOURCE: Khaleej Times

LINK: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/life-and-living/fitness-avoid-these-mistakes-achieve-your-goals