Have you tried exercising in the past but not gotten the results you’d hoped for? Chances are, it’s because you were committing one of these common exercise mistakes.

Focusing on one area of the body—If you go to the gym regularly, you’ve surely run across the guy who only seems to work out his arms. Every single day, there he is doing the exact same lifting routine over and over. As a result, he looks like a bad carton character with huge arms, a beer gut, and chicken legs. Set aside days to target each area of your body. That way, you’ll be well-rounded and in the top condition possible.

Doing too much, too quickly—Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will the body you want be. Getting into shape requires consistency and dedication. Killing yourself on the treadmill after months of inactivity won’t get the job done. Instead, it will lead to burn out, causing you to eventually stop exercising altogether.
Keeping the same routine for months at a time—Performing the same routine week in and week out for months at a time will cause you to plateau. In other words, your body will adapt to the workout, and it will no longer challenge your muscles. Mix your routine up regularly to keep challenging your body and to keep yourself from getting bored.
Poor technique—Even the most ardent gym rats often have poor technique. That’s because they were never officially trained on how to lift correctly. This poses 2 huge negatives: 1)Lifting incorrectly means you won’t enjoy the full results of the exercise and 2)More importantly, improper technique puts you at serious risk for injury. One wrong movement can tear a muscle, sidelining you for months.
Not setting goals—If you don’t have any goals, how can you tell if you’re progressing with your workouts? You need tangible, realistic goals so that you can measure your results. Whether your goal is as simple as losing a certain number of pounds or being able to lift a certain amount of weight, the key is to write these goals down and to make sure you’re progressing toward them at a reasonable rate.
Not eating properly—Exercise alone just isn’t enough. Just because you hit the gym for an hour a night doesn’t justify eating 3 meals of fast food each day. Find a healthy diet plan that fits within your lifestyle so you can get the maximum results from your workout routine.