YOU'VE BOUGHT the gym membership, splashed out on the latest fitness gear and dedicated hours every week to an exercise regimen. Yet the flab is still there, and frustration sets in. Rather than throwing in the towel, it may be time to have a rethink.
All too often, professional trainers say, people adopt bad workout habits, from exercising at the wrong time and lifting weights too quickly, to cheating on crunches. Chances are you've simply fallen foul of a fitness faux pas.
These can occur even before you don your running shoes. Timing is the key to a workout, and if you exercise at the wrong time, you may not realise your potential.
Sheena Freyer of Infinity Training suggests hitting the gym during peak-energy hours. For some people, this will be in the morning, but for many, it's from 3pm to her cut-off time of 7.45pm, when the body has stored energy from two meals.
'Exercising late at night isn't good at all. If the body is hyper, you won't be able to fall asleep,' she says.
Another common mistake people make is to push their bodies too hard when they're unwell. It's a bad idea to exercise when ill, Freyer says, although a mild workout to wake you up is acceptable if you have a harmless sniffle.
