7 Reasons Why Your Workout Isn't Working out ...

Focus on form, not speed, since when you rush through an exercise you tend to sacrifice form. A few of the exercises that are most often performed incorrectly are the lunge, squat and the plank. The key is targeting various parts of the body at once, without spending countless hours at the gym. When it comes to building a better body, less is more so make the most of your time!

Leg extensions and the leg press isolate an individual muscle group which does little for your body and may even cause an imbalance. By isolating an individual muscle group you risk overdeveloping one muscle while neglecting a muscle that counterbalances it. So what do you do? Focus on exercises like lunges and squats that work multiple muscle groups and give you a better bang for your buck in results!

Often weightlifters focus their time and effort on weight training and limit or avoid a cardiovascular workout. Remember physical fitness is having muscular strength, cardiovascular strength (keeping heart healthy) and flexibility. It is important to focus on all three so stretch, lift weights and get a run, walk, swim or any other cardiovascular workout in. If you limit cardiovascular exercise you may still see the aesthetics of your weight lifting but will not have the health benefits of cardiovascular exercise. Balance is the key to paramount results!

Gone are the days when people would perform hundreds of abdominal exercises and expect to see the results of lean, sculpted abs. Focusing on hundreds of abdominal exercises can strain your neck and back. Recent studies have shed light on the benefits of exercises like the plank for strengthening and toning your abdominal muscles and core. Just remember to perform the plank with your body in a straight line from head to toe with your forearms, hands and feet touching the floor. And have fun with it by envisioning your amazing results to come!

By lifting weights, you are breaking down muscle fibre, so it is important to alternate days to focus on muscle groups and it is just as important to give yourself a rest day. By giving yourself a day off you will have a chance to recover. Recovery days are essential for optimal results and also to limit the risk of an injury. And you will decrease burn out this way!

We have all seen the individual that walks around the gym with a large muscular upper body and pencil legs. By the way, not a good look! Does this look balanced to you? Often people tend to focus on upper body exercise when weight training and they limit the lower body exercises. This creates a muscular imbalance leading to injury and often creating lower back pain. It is essential to focus on the lower and upper body when creating your fitness program.

It is important to stay hydrated throughout your workout by drinking water or any sports drink. By staying hydrated you will not only optimise your performance and limit muscle cramping but also aid your muscles in a quicker recovery. Or another healthy option for a drink is coconut water because it is loaded with potassium, in fact much more than any sports drink. Potassium helps to maintain water balance and helps trigger muscles to perform. So remember H2O is the way to go!