5 things that almost screwed up my fitness life
(the title of this post is a little dramatic, but so am I, so there ya go. haha)
Today, I thought it would be fun to talk about things that stood in my way when I was first getting started on a healthy lifestyle. There was a lot of information out there, and I was intimated, confused, and at first, enlisted the wrong type of help to assist me with my goals.
But first, a sweet picture here at home this morning with lovebug, taking it easy. She’s a little bit under the weather, so we’re just going to chill at home, drink tea, eat soup and watch Enchanted. Not a bad way to spend the morning. 😉
(Picked up this shirt at Express and LOVE these tops for spring. Printed button up, check.)
Anyways, I love to read others’ stories about how they got to their current spot, so I thought I’d share some of my mistakes I made in the early days. (I also talk a lot about my fitness history and backstory in the intro of “HIIT It!”) Here are 5 fitness mistakes I made that almost screwed up my fitness goals. See if you recognize yourself in any of these!
5 Fitness Mistakes to Avoid and What I Did to Fix Them
Mistake: Not Strength Training
I totally let myself believe that strength training makes you bulky. As someone who was trying to get to a healthy weight, I did NOT want to become bulky. At first, I avoided strength training like the plague. Now I’m pretty sure whenever Tracy Anderson says that weights make you bulky, a fairy falls down dead. It is NOT TRUE.
Fitness Fix: Strength Train Regularly
I didn’t lean out until I started strength training on a regular basis. Not only does it help to build lean, strong muscles, but it also increases your calorie-burning potential and protects your bones over time. There are so many reasons to add strength training to your routine, and it’s one of the few things everyone should do.
Mistake: Taking Advice From Someone Unqualified
When I first started getting into fitness and consistently walking each day, I decided I wanted to do more and signed up at a gym. That’s usually a good step to take, but I let myself become prey to the gym sharks at the personal training desk. This was a big box gym, where any high school kid could be a “personal trainer.” Intrigued by the promise of an increased metabolism, a friend and I signed up right there on the spot. It was such a mistake.
Our “trainer” put us on an extremely low-calorie eating plan (FYI certified personal trainers can give you ideas of what to eat, or portion ideas, but they cannot give you a specific plan without additional certifications or expertise), but would tell us to eat a bagel after each workout. I still don’t understand. He gave us a really strange example of a fitness routine, which eventually sucked me into the “more is more” mentality.
Fitness Fix: Sign Up with a Certified Personal Trainer
Or you can become one, like I did! A certified personal trainer can show you how to workout properly to reach your fitness goals. Trainers can be helpful no matter where you are on your fitness journey, from getting started on the right foot to giving your workout routine the boost it needs. They can also show you how to workout efficiently, so you’re not stuck working out like crazy for long periods of time. Which brings me to my next point…
Mistake: Overtraining
I started to believe that the more I did, the better it was. Little did I know, I was eating away the precious muscle I had worked so hard to build. I took a LOT of fitness classes–especially when we lived in Fayetteville. I was bored and the gym had a fantastic schedule. But doing so much actually hindered my results. I started to get some serious overtraining symptoms and knew I had to scale back.
Fitness Fix: Workout Efficiently
After I scaled my workouts way back (but kept up the intensity), I finally saw the results I had been looking for. Shorter workouts can be more effective than longer, drawn out ones, and you’ll see that reflected in the workouts I post here, as well as in my book.
Mistake: Not fueling my workouts properly
This is something that took me a long time to learn, and is still constantly evolving. I would work out on an empty stomach, or fail to replenish afterwards, and found myself getting injured, tired, or hit the wall way before I should have.
Fitness Fix: Fuel my body
I think my exact methods will continue to change as my workouts (and modes) change, but at least I know now that I need to have a small bite before a workout (unless it’s super early) and definitely a meal afterwards with lots of water.
Mistake: Trying to fit myself into a mold.
As someone who likes to do a lot of different things, I found myself wanting to fit into a specific mode or label. I felt like I couldn’t be a spinning weightlifting barre-ing Zumba-ing yogi. I needed to be a runner. Or a lifter. Or a dancer. I felt all over the place, and if I wasn’t focused on one thing, I kind of felt like I was failing at it (which, looking back now, is so silly).
Fitness Fix: Enjoy a variety of workouts
Now I embrace the fact that variety is the spice of my fitness life. Sometimes I run more often that usual, others I’m all about dance, or super into yoga; it changes based on how I feel. When you lead an active life that leaves you healthy and feeling energized, labels don’t matter. Plus, changing it up keeps your body guessing and can be great for overall fitness.
The good news is that you can change any of these things at any time. There are always little tweaks we can make to properly fuel ourselves, give ourselves sufficient time to rest and rebuild, and add (or subtract) habits from our routine. Also, if you ever need help setting up a fitness plan, I have a ton of tips and strategies here. <— shameless book plug
What’s something that you had to learn the hard way with health and fitness? How often do you train now? Do you fit into a certain mold (runner, swimmer, dancer, etc), or are you a little all over the place like yours truly?
As always, I’m excited to read your comments! <3
Have a wonderful day.
xoxo
Gina
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I was once told that if you miss 1 day that you are doomed and that you needed to “repent” the next day by liquid dieting and running!
Now if I skip a day, I shrug and I know that tomorrow will be better. =)
I use to have this mentality too…:=
It’s hard to change from it!
Your blog has been a major help in my fitness journey! I have learned from you that variety is very important, so I love to switch it up too! And I believe my body is more efficient when I train that way. I did do PiYo solely for two months and by the end I was bored of it (there’s also no weights involved at all, it’s tough bodyweight work but a lot of repetition training the same muscles on consecutive days which I know isn’t good). I still love to throw a PiYo workout or two into my week, but feel better when I have variety (which is why I love to follow your workout schedules).
I got a personal trainer at a Lifetime Fitness gym and I’m pretty sure she was just a student who had no idea what she was talking about. She told me the only cardio I should ever do is walking for 30 minutes on the treadmill at MAX incline. She also gave me a diet plan that included egg whites for breakfast, quinoa for lunch, 6 almonds for a snack and a piece of fish for dinner. Needless to say, thankfully I was smart enough to walk away and know she wasn’t correct. Again, I’ve learned a lot of what I know from you over the years!! Thank you so much for being such a positive light 🙂
Thank you for sharing your experience Gina! I’ve definitely went through some of the same battles and I love that I can relate to them. Your honesty is one thing that keeps me hooked on your blog :).
I enjoyed reading this! I think one of my biggest mistakes has been with fueling. And unfortunately I am dealing with the consequences now but I have learned a lot along the way (:
Love this post!
My biggest health screw up was becoming absolutely obsessed with calorie counting. I was so into counting the calories I burnt, and the calories I was consuming, that I stopped enjoying working out (and did it only for the calorie burn) as well as stopped enjoying food all together. It wasn’t until I stopped counting my calories that I started enjoying my fitness path again.
I hate the myth that lifting will make you bulky! I still hear that once in a while and I’m like NO! Something I had to learn was you can’t out train a bad diet. I thought I would slim down when I trained for a half marathon, but nope! It wasn’t until I took a serious look at my diet and got rid of excess carbs (daily bread/pasta/bagels/etc) that I actually saw a difference.
I’ve always been all over the place with fitness. When I was growing up I did every sport under the sun. Now I enjoy CrossFit, yoga, running, hiking, and whatever new thing that pops up and looks fun.
Like you, I’ve always felt like I needed to fit into a mold, but unfortunately there isn’t enough time to do every fitness activity I’m interested in! So I shift around. I will say I do get frustrated when I take a hiatus from running for example; it’s so hard to get back to the mileage/pace where I was.
All of that aside – at 23 weeks pregnant, I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing! Still a little bit of everything, but intensity is so much lower then I’m used to. (I made it though WSU with minimal modifications though!) Fueling is exceptionally important at this point though (who am I kidding eating a snack every 2 hours is mandatory at this point.)
Oh man, pretty sure I did all of these at some point. Guess I’m finally getting older and wiser or something haha 😉
These days I don’t fit into a specific mold as far as training modes go, but if I had to put a label on it, it would probably be strength-training-ish. Bodyweight stuff, lifting, TRX…it’s my jam.
Hope little Liv is back to herself soon! xo
AHhh yes ALL these things. I wish that there were an easier way to get ‘into’ fitness but unfortunately I feel like many many people fall into the traps that big box gyms/sensational TV trainers sell.. and it ends poorly!
It took me a long time to learn to to pace myself. I used to show up to class or weights and push as hard as I could straight off and could barely make it through the workout (without really warming up 🙁 ) . I actually had to leave spin class after 15minutes because I thought I was going to faint. That was the moment I decided to do some more research and learn how to listen to my body.
Great pointers. The two times I ever worked with a trainer, I ended up knowing more about fitness than the both of them combined. There are some amazing ones out there, but you really have to vet them. Strength training is also what got me to wear I am now, which is my most toned ever!
xx Jill
Latest post: The Best Way to Wear a Corset Top feat. Kora Rae
Great post! I definitely have bucketed myself into the “runner” mode and I often find that I am always training for a race, need to log the miles, and then never have time to do strength training. What is REALLY silly is I know strength training will actually help my racing, but there just never seems to be enough hours in the day. I’m also a little (okay, a lot) type-A and love to have a set workout and know that I am making a difference, and not just flopping around the gym. Sometimes I feel like I go to group classes and I leave like, uhhhh, did I even sweat? Which is really silly and I need to broaden my horizons. The struggle is real, but I’m working on it!
Not comparing my 38 year old self with my 28 year old self. Appreciation of my body and all it has,been through. I’m stronger for it all, even if I weigh 10 piunds more. =)
YES! I agree with all of those so much! Overtraining and under-fueling was so detrimental to my health, it has taken quite a while to heal the effects of that. I also agree that trying to fit into a label, be it fitness or diet, usually doesn’t matter. It’s so much more important to tune into your own body’s wisdom than to try and do what someone else says is right.
Have a great Wednesday! <3
Oh my gosh! The Tracey Anderson thing kills me! I can’t believe so many people fall for her bs!
Yyes so familiar, over trained, scared to eat properly and scared of weights. I train al over the shop now too, and I enjoy what I do! I started to hate working out, because I was forcing it and it was etting unhealthy.
I’m definitely all over the place, too lol….I’m a Gemini – I get bored easy so I can’t do the same thing all the time. My struggle right now is that I want to look a certain way and it’s taking over — and I’m letting it get me down instead of just focusing on having fun with fitness….
Playing sports and staying active during my younger years made it pretty easy for me to transition into working out and training during my adult years. HOWEVER…I would say during college when I joined a gym on my own for the “first time” I was terrified of group fitness. I had so many misconceptions of group fitness…it’s only for “older” ladies, it’s not a good work out, I’m not going to know what to do! After literally being DRAGGED to a Jazzercise class with a girlfriend one Thanksgiving Break, I fell in love with group fitness and all my misconceptions were POOF gone. Not only was I in the best shape of my life, I was making friends and having fun. I used to be the shy, quiet girl in the back corner of the class, now I’m the crazy instructor up front helping others achieve their fitness goals.
Hey Gina!
I find your site so inspirational. I am (as of about a month ago!) a military wife as well, and we recently PCSed somewhere new… and this is my first time without a job in about 10 years. I find every day to be a struggle between working out like crazy or raiding the fridge. I’m trying to find a routine, but I’m struggling with a lot of the things that you mentioned. I used to teach group fitness classes, and I know how to eat correctly… but I find myself still struggling. Thank you for your continued inspiration to keep it up 🙂
hang in there, girl. that’s how i felt in fayetteville. you’ll find your groove <3
xoxo
I totally relate to number 5. My big fitness kick started with running and doing half marathons, then morphed into fitness classes, zumba, yoga, and almost everything under the sun. Variety is the spice of life, yo! I still do a lot of running but tend to bounce around to whatever I feel like doing that week. The other big fitness lesson I’m currently learning is that you can’t out exercise a bad diet. I’ve known this forever but never took it seriously until this year. I’m seeing massive changes in my body now that I’m getting my eating on track. Fitness and working out comes so easy to me so it’s nice to actually see pay off now that I’ve got the food situation semi-down.
One of the main reasons I love fitness blogs is that they show you someone else’s perspective on fitness. No part of my job is related to fitness, so reading your blog helps to fill in that portion of my education that I am missing out on. Through the blog I’ve learned about recipes that are gluten-free, vegetarian, organic and healthy. Before I started reading, I just thought that straight cardio consistently would keep me healthy, but it’s silly to think that. I really like bodyweight exercises and HIIT, it just feels good. Kudos on the blog and being cool!
I have been guilty of many of these as well, and still struggle with some. Just this morning I decided to stay in bed an extra hour instead of getting up to workout before work. I haven’t been sleeping well the past few nights, and I am planning to take a BodyPump class today anyway, so I thought the extra hour of sleep would do me more good then the cardio I was planning to do this morning. I felt guilty about it though, until I read this! I have some struggles with food/fuel as well. As I do workout before work and don’t eat until 2 or 3 hours later, I have been wondering if I am doing myself a disservice?
And yes I have done many a Tracy Anderson workout and have fell victim to the weights = bulk. But then I remember how much I enjoy weights and kettlebells. And how when I see a tiny bit of a bicep forming I get super excited! Besides, I lost 30 lbs doing a mix of cardio and strength training; while I lost absolutely nothing doing her workouts and felt pretty flabby. I feel stupid admitting it, but I still have to remind myself of that sometimes!
I’ve been on a weight loss journey for years now but was always on or off. In October, I bit the bullet and bought myself a set of Power Block weights and it was the best purchase ever! The tone that comes along with weightlifting, in my opinion, beats out being just skinny. I’m also now getting to the point where I’ve realized I’m overtraining and I’ve scaled back. I was doing two a days for probably half of the days in the week. I’ve learn to let myself rest and I feel like it’s making a big difference so far. I love the journey and realizing more and more about myself and learning how MY body likes to do things. It’s so fun to have this “project” that I’m working on that changes every day. Just an exciting thing to see what your body can do!
As a runner I def fall into the routine of overdoing cardio. I can’t help it I love to run! But I know I need to strength train more often. It’s something I try to make a conscious effort to add in every week so I don’t sabotage myself or get injured.
I used to think it had to be all or nothing: that it wasn’t worth working out if I wasn’t going to clean up my eats. Now I know that while the two obviously do better hand in hand, just because I eat some extra cake one day doesn’t mean I can’t work out. I also used to think that if I didn’t eat perfectly before working out that I wouldn’t be at my prime during the workout. Now I know that they were all excuses I used to justify not working out or my lack of weight loss. Now I just go regardless of what I ate and I feel so much better. I do know the importance of eating right, but I don’t let not “eating right” stop me.
As a former cardio queen, the most valuable lesson I’ve learned is that more is not always better; better is better i.e. that intensity, not duration is what gets results. I still enjoy cardio, in moderation, but prioritize my weight training workouts and HIIT/sprints over the moderate intensity longer duration workouts most days. I don’t schedule rest days, and crave movement in some way, shape or form most days, but take rest days when I need them. I’ve realized the importance of balance, listening to my body and fueling it with real, whole foods (most of the time, because wine and chocolate 😉 ); not all the sugar-free, fat-free artificial crap that I used to just because it was low calorie. Bottom line: it’s not eat less, exercise more, rather, it’s about eating more of the right things more often.
What a great post! I’m glad you found the right balance for you! Also, I hope Livi feels better!
It’s so easy to get lost when you’re first starting out your fitness journey. There’s so much money and bad “science” out there, it’s no wonder.
In college and high school i absolutely refused to even look at the weights because I didn’t want to get “bulky and big”. I laugh at that now since I learned so much more and have incorporated weight training into my routine; I have never been in better shape and have been the leanest ever!
Great post Ginna. I can relate to all of these but specifically number 4. Eating proper workout food is something I really struggle with. I work 9 to 5 in an office and I commute about an hour and a half each way to get there. So I leave my house at 7:30 am and don’t get home until 6:30 pm. I also take the bus so I am bound to the schedules of public transportation. Eating the right food at the right time is such a challenge with that schedule. I try to pack healthy foods for meals and snacks but it isn’t easy! Sometimes there just isn’t enough room in my bag, sometimes the food can’t be out of the fridge that long, sometimes the recipes call for items that aren’t sold in Canada…the excuses are endless. Hopefully I’ll get a handle on managing my food soon.
I found this list to be really interesting. I see #5 as a huge pitfall for me personally. What is it with getting so hung up on perceived failure?
This is a great blog post! I totally agree with so many of these points and see it so often working in the health and fitness realm. It is so important to be aware of your nutrition and dietary habits when you’re working your butt of in the gym. Great advice!
I really enjoyed this post. I’m like you & like lots of different workouts. I run, lift weights, walk, etc. but I do wonder how much is too much? I don’t think I’m overtraining but how do I really know?
I’m all over the board now… running, krav maga, yoga, sometimes barre. I love it that way, its definitely better than when I was trying to be just a runner or just lifting. It keeps me interested and motivated.
I really enjoyed this one Gina! I am so glad to hear I’m not the only one who likes to do a little bit of everything, I feel like I would be bored out of my mind if I just stuck with one type of workout, but that’s me. Proper fuel, so important to remember! Great one!
Good info! I always have trouble with the ‘fuel your workout’ concept. I understand a person needs to eat enough overall for health, but fuel = calories and timing of calories isn’t important for energy balance because we have excellent storage functionality. It’s like saying I need to go to work and earn the money I spent after shopping on that day. I think calories are more like a bank account. We store them for later and use them as needed, no matter which day, or what time, we took them in. I do understand keeping stable blood sugar and glycogen but calories is a whole different concept than nutrients. I also understand keeping a good daily calorie level. Just not the ‘fuel your workout’ concept!
Which I mention not to dispute your info but in case you have a way of making me see it, since you too are a finance person and I haven’t taken weight mgmt courses! I’ve read books on intermittent fasting and people who fast usually say they feel more energetic on low cal days, which is probably part of my issue with the saying. Plus I feel no correlation between energy levels and the amount I’ve eaten in a day (except maybe reverse correlation.)
Eh, just food for thought!
totally understand what you’re saying. back in the day, i didn’t have enough fuel left in my tank to sustain my upcoming workouts. it was more of learning to properly fuel myself in general, not just the time sandwiched around the workout
Hi Gina! Oh my gosh, I hate to hear when people have had negative experiences with certified personal trainers, but it seems to happen quite a bit. Nothing changed my fitness level for the better than starting to lift weights through taking BODYPUMP classes years ago, and as you know now — I’m even an instructor. Thanks for sharing your tips! 🙂
Thank you SO much for this blog post! I’m really struggling to get back in a healthy lifestyle, and you’re right–some of these have been standing in my way!
Unlearning that more is more mentality was very challenging for me. I couldn’t get over the idea that if I didn’t run a certain amount of miles or spend a certain amount of time working out that my work out “didn’t count.” I’m just as active as I’ve always been, but now I embrace the idea that variety in training is key and you don’t have to kill yourself to get in a great workout.
I’m a certified yoga instructor, so you’d think yoga would be my life, but no (although I do a sun A and/or B most mornings to wake up). In the last week, I’ve done yoga, reformer pilates, a cardio barre class, and I have Lagree pilates on the schedule for tonight. My hardest part is scheduling the classes so I’m not overworking one part or doing the same kind of class too many times in a row.
This is not an ad, but for group classes, Classpass has been life changing for me. I love the variety and the studios have all been amazing.
i’ve been wanting to try classpass. since i teach so often, i’m not sure i’d be able to take full advantage of it. i love the idea so much
This is helpful!! Two questions- what were your overtraining symptoms? Also, do you see a big difference in your body doing more barre or weights? Or what impact does it have on your body/weight? Thanks!!!!
here’s the post i wrote about it: http://fitnessista.com/2010/05/when-its-too-much/
i notice the best results when i do both: barre once a week, strength about 2x a week
Gina, this is such a helpful and well written post. I really wish I had read this a few years ago when I initially joined the gym to lose the weight I gained during college. I had a trainer, who was actually a great trainer, but I ignored her advice about the importance of rest days and not overdoing it. I used to do intense cardio 6- 7 days a week (half marathon training) and I definitely was not fueling my body properly. It makes me sad to look back on this time, but I’m so glad I was able to break that unhealthy cycle. Honestly, reading “healthy living” blogs made me realize that life is all about balance – skipping a workout or 2 isn’t the end of the world 🙂 So, thank you for helping me in ways that you don’t even know! <3
HI, loved this post as I am also guilty of some of the points!
Exactly what are the symptoms of overtraining? I think we’re all guilty of it from time to time
Thanks!
I like this post . It is nice to hear your point of view regarding Fitness. I think you are very relatable. Thank you for sharing your personal experience.
I’d also love to hear about the signs/symptoms you experienced in regards to over-training. It seems like most people generalize this subject and I think a personal point of view would be helpful.
so happy you enjoyed the post! here’s my experience: http://fitnessista.com/2010/05/when-its-too-much/
OMG I cannot eat before a workout. ESPECIALLY in the morning (I workout around 5:30 or 6am). Even a tiny bite of a Kind bar will make me nauseated and I’ll have to stop or else I’ll barf (I learned that the hard way. At the gym. While working with a PT. Do not recommend.) I’m always struggling with cardio because I love spin but I’ve hit a rut lately with it. Something is just off, but I HATE running because I have very big girls and there is NO sports bra known to man that can contain them (34F/G and I’m a size 6… Just kill me now). I’m thinking about buying a used elliptical for my home gym, but I know how you feel about those. 😉
What a well written post, I am the same way, I love doing it all, I love lifting, I love dancing, I love BARRE I just love being active! Thanks for sharing it helped me open up in myself and what I love! xo C
I’m so with you on the strength training thing!! I used to be a cardio queen, but I’ve gotten smarter:)
This post is everything. At some point, I have experienced everything you shared – and struggled most with overtraining. I’m also a trainer outside of my 9-5, and felt like I needed to go extra crazy in the gym to prove I was as fit and capable as the “real” aka full-time trainers. Totally untrue! For awhile I got completely burned out and wanted nothing to do with working out…which was really sad. When I scaled back and focused more on movement I truly enjoyed, I rediscovered my love of fitness again.
Love this. One of my problems is wanting to do everything. Then I get overspent and do nothing. For me, personally, it’s better to focus on one or two areas or I become overwhelmed easily.
Great list.
I have definitely fallen prey to feeling like I need to fit into a certain category. There are times that I feel like a runner and love it, but there are also times I want to scale back to try other things, but am worried that I won’t “fit in” to that self-imposed category. So dumb! This is such an awesome and informative post – thank you!