How To Avoid These 5 Progress-Killing Mistakes

1. Give Every Workout Your 100%

When you leave the gym, you should do so with a sense of pride.

There’s nothing like that feeling of euphoria after a hard workout, knowing you've pushed yourself near your physical and mental limits, but come out the other side a fitter, stronger, leaner person.

This isn't saying you need to puke every workout or take yourself to the brink of collapse, but you should finish each session sweating, feeling slightly shaky, possibly even a little light headed or queasy from time to time. Sitting down in the changing room afterwards shouldn't be optional – if you can still stand up, hold a conversation normally and look like you've just spent the last 40 minutes watching a movie rather than training, it’s time to crank things up a gear.

2. Get a Program Designed Specifically For You

Look around at the trainers in the gym. Which one of them has the most in-shape clients? Go up to him or her and ask them about their methods and how they train clients.

If cash is tight, you needn't sign up to a block of sessions, and if that’s all they’re interested in selling you, walk away. But a good trainer who wants to help people should be more than willing to help design a program tailored exactly to your goals. Make sure they sit down with you, ask plenty of questions, listen to your responses and explain their program-making decisions.

If this is out of your budget, download an e-book centered around your goals. There are plenty of great, affordable e-books for all goals relating to weight loss and burning fat. Follow the program to the letter and keep detailed notes on your results.

3. Get Your Diet Sorted

Establish some basic rules:

- protein (from chicken, lean beef, pork, fish, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, tofu, eggs or a shake) in every meal.
- At least two servings of vegetables and one serving of fruit at each meal.
- Limit high-carb items (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc.) to only your post-workout meal.
- Adjust portion sizes so you consistently lose 1 to 2 pounds per week.

It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

4. Make One Goal Per Week

And stick to it.

It could be something as simple as making sure you actually go to the gym three times a week, rather than just saying you will. Or something performance-based, such as setting a new personal best on your squats, or running a mile quicker than you did last session.

5. Pick Weights Over Cardio

Think weight training is all about getting huge? Think again.

Weight training not only builds lean muscle mass, but it burns calories too. By working lots of large muscle groups at once you burn a huge number of calories, not to mention strengthen your joints, tendons and ligaments in the process.

Work your whole body three times per week, lifting weights that are challenging for three to four sets of eight to 12 reps per set. Keep your rest periods to between 60 and 90 seconds between sets and aim to lift a bit heavier every week.

Add cardio second, it’s important, but weight training is where you’ll see your real gains.