Small Mistakes That May Be Sabotaging Your Workouts

When starting a new workout, many people miss key steps even before stepping foot in the gym. These steps may seem small, but leaving them out can have a negative impact on results. Whether people have a goal to gain muscle mass, tone up, or lose excess weight, the following items are crucial before completing a workout routine at any level of intensity. People who are frustrated with minimal results from their workouts may find the reason for their lack of success on this list. Indeed, many people who exercise do not realize the importance of completing these six key steps before a workout. Consult a local gym or personal trainer for more information on how to implement these techniques before a workout.

Not Drinking Enough Water

Drinking enough water before a workout is critical to performance, endurance, and recovery. Many people drink an adequate amount of water while working out when they are thirsty. At this point, however, they have already lost valuable water from their body. When exercising, humans lose water from their body through sweat, and water intake before working out is important for ensuring this supply is replenished. According to The American Council on Exercise and WebMD, people should drink fifteen to twenty ounces (440 to 600 milliliters) of water up to two hours before exercise and approximately eight ounces (250 milliliters) of water should be consumed twenty to thirty minutes before exercise or even during a warm up. Every human is different, and some people's water needs may vary from the recommendations above.

Drinking Too Much Liquid

Drinking too much liquid before working out will also have a noticeably negative effect on performance, and depending on the liquid, recovery can also be affected negatively. People who feel liquid sloshing around in their stomach while exercising may have consumed too much water before working out. As mentioned above, there are guidelines for how much water to drink before a workout. If some people feel this amount is too much for them, they should cut back on the quantity they drink. In a 2014 study published in Sports Medicine, an academic journal, researchers concluded that any type of alcohol can negatively affect people's ability to recover from an injury. This shows that even the type of liquid consumed before working out is extremely important, and water should be the only drink consumed before exercise.