4 Mistakes To Avoid When Starting A Fitness Program

Everybody makes mistakes, that’s part of being human. But some mistakes can be more harmful or detrimental to your goals or even your health. Today I want to share 4 of the more common mistakes I see that keep people from achieving lasting results. 

Big Mistake 1: Shiny Object Syndrome

There’s a lot of programs out there to help you. Some are great, a lot are terrible especially for anyone over 40. The big mistake I see here is when someone starts a new program, does it a little bit but then quickly moves on to the next “new” thing. New is not always better. In fact bouncing around from one thing to another like that is like trying to go home, but always changing what direction you travel to get there, and so you never actually get there. 

Solution: Patience 

Once you have chosen a program that matches with what you want to get out of your health, your body within the lifestyle you want to have, stick with it for at least 3 months (6 months being more realistic). Building habits and getting lasting results doesn’t happen quickly. Look for short wins and enjoyability along your journey and stop chasing the next “new shiny thing”. 

Personal Confession

I have done this myself numerous times in other avenues in life from business models to golf. I get the draw of shiny object syndrome, it’s hard to stay the course on your own. A coach really can really help you stay the course. 

Big Mistake 2: Going 0-60 out of the gate

Helping people avoid this mistake has actually cost me clients every now and then, but my first duty to clients is to always keep you safe. This mistake is generally most common with New Years Resolutioners. You catch a wave of motivation to get healthy, and so you hit the workouts hard, get on a restrictive meal plan with foods only found in the remote villages of Tibet only to find your body sore, energy lacking and hating life. Not to mention you greatly increase your risk of injury. Don’t make this mistake.  

Solution: Be Strategic With Your Plan

Be smarter instead of going harder. Soul crushing workouts everyday might seem like it will give you great results, but in reality it just causes couch over compensation which means you’re moving less. Following a restrictive diet might get you great weight loss results in the short term, but are you going to eat that way forever? Is it even healthy? It’s better to have a strategic plan that lays down a solid foundation of habits. For example: Start with workouts that get you improving your movement quality and build a habit of consistency where you feel great, recover well and have a “spring” in your step. For nutrition maybe focus on building a foundation of good hydration and a serving of produce with most meals. This strategic plan is the basis of my Daily Fit Program, and pretty much any coaching I do.

Personal Confession

I’m a tad competitive, especially with myself. After a layoff from being sick, or a vacation where I didn’t do much, I have been guilty of going too hard too soon, and you know what? I pay the price every time I do that. Learn from my mistakes and avoid going 0-60. 

Big Mistake 3: All or None Thinking

Are you the type of person that gives up because you missed a workout, or had a weekend of pizza, lucky charms and a box of oreos for meals? Or do you have 15 minutes for exercise and feel a little low on energy and say to yourself “Well I don’t have an hour and I don’t have the energy to screw it”? This is a big mistake. 

Solution: Re-Frame Your Mindset

Focus on what you can do instead of perfectionism or what you can’t do. Got 15 minutes and feel low, why not do some core activation drills and easy mobility or stretching drills? Had a weekend bender? Guess what, it won’t be your last. Enjoy it, move on with the routine you are building, it won’t come without bumps in the road. If you are a true perfectionist, this is going to be challenging, but you have to also understand that being perfect or 100% with your action plans is just not realistic for anyone, recognize that aiming for 1% better will get you farther than beating yourself up when things get messy. 

Personal Confession:

In a similar way I used to only want to put things out there that would make everyone happy and if it didn’t seem like it would do that I wouldn’t put it out there. As a result I released very few fitness programs, and even more articles which hurt me from making progress. Allowing things to get messy sometimes while moving forward did 2 things; I actually helped more people and I learned more from the “mess” than I could have by giving up because it wasn’t “perfect”. Learn that lesson from my error and avoid the all or none mistake. 

Big Mistake 4: Treating This “Fitness Thing” Like Something You Loathe 

I love my cats (I Have two of them) but I loathe cleaning kitty litter. But if I want cats (and a clean house) I have to clean the litter box everyday. 

If you want to be healthy so you can be at your best but loathe the actions you have to take to be healthy as much as I loathe cleaning the kitty litter, the likelihood of you sticking with it over the long haul is pretty low. 

Solution: Find Joy Or At Minimum Your Deep Reasons Why

While I don’t look forward to cleaning kitty litter, I do enjoy my cats and my deep reason why I clean their litter is so they continue to use it, not other parts of the house. That’s pretty simple to understand. When it comes to the health and fitness space it is a little more complex. 

Often the loathing comes from a false perception of what you have to do or what you think you have to “give up”. The fitness industry loves to profit from marketing that makes you feel less of a person in appearance or performance. I HATE that. You are enough, you don’t have to give up anything, and you certainly don’t have to go “beast mode” in the gym everyday and make your entire life revolve around your workouts, meals and sleep, and you certainly don’t have to be a size zero to be happy.  

It’s time to change your perception and find the joy in 3 steps. 

Step 1: What activities do you like to do and could do multiple times a week? Make the list. From walking to specific exercises or sport activities choose a few that you will easily be able to commit to. This can act as your foundation. 

Step 2: Be curious about what you are capable of doing. Had a negative experience with working out because you got hurt or your bootcamp instructor made you puke? Maybe it’s not working out that you hate, just the way they did it. Find another solution. 

Step 3: Create internal motivation by going deep with YOUR WHY. Not your mom’s, not the celebrity you follow or anyone else who tries to tell you why you “should” get healthier. Why is it important to you? I used to have an infographic called “the 5 layer why cake” the first question was “Why do you want to have a higher level of health and fitness? Followed 4 times by “why is that important to you?” It challenged clients to tap into their deep reasons why which at the deeper levels aligns with their core values as a person… this is hard work but really important because you become much more intrinsically motivated, and that’s where habits are more easily formed and results last. 

Personal Confession

For years I did the “fitness thing” based on how I thought I should look or be, especially as a health and fitness professional. Truth was I hated it so much. A lot of what I was doing didn’t even align with my core values, I felt fake and I felt like the fitness industry was only made up of people who cared about how they looked without any deeper level. I nearly quit altogether. 

Long story short, at that time I had received a picture set of my health enthusiast grandfather from the 1930’s who inspired me to help others for a living. It was then I remembered my way and I started working with clients who had underlying issues like diabetes, cancer, post rehab heart and stroke, morbid obesity and “I just want to retire and participate with my grandkids” Those experiences, remembering how my grandfather stayed fit, but still managed to eat chocolate everyday and the time spent with clients who could care less about big muscles or making every meal for the week on sunday, that’s when I learned about the deep reasons why. My reasons why, help me do the things that boost my health even when I get into a rut, or eat too much chocolate :)