5 Fitness Mistakes That Will Kill Your Progress
Free advice that will save you months of frustration.
Maybe you’re brand new to working out?
Or maybe you’re the “start again, stop again” type?
Either way, starting your fitness journey, for the first or 100th time, is exciting. You're ready to transform your body and build that daily workout habit.
But here's the thing - I've been working out for decades and I’ve fallen prey to every one of these traps. In fact, I’ve found these to be the biggest pitfalls that ruin beginners before they even get started.
Knowing what not to do is just as valuable as knowing what to do, and these are the five biggest mistakes that are probably sabotaging your progress right now.
Fix these, and you'll be miles ahead of where most people get stuck.
The Over-Complication Trap
You know what I see every January?
People walking into the gym with color-coded workout spreadsheets, tracking apps, and a 12-week "optimal" program they found online.
The truth is: You don't need any of that right now.
And more than likely those people will quit long before they get to week 12 on their spreadsheet.
Your only job in the first few months is to show up consistently and do the work. That's it.
No fancy splits.
No “optimization.”
No "muscle confusion."
Or any other BS “fitness gurus” will tell you you must do in order to get in shape.
Pick 4-5 basic compound movements (eg. squats, pushups, etc.).
Do them 3-4 times a week. (If you’re starting from scratch check out this fitness routine here).
Add weight when they feel too easy.
That's your program. Everything else is just noise that'll make you quit when life gets busy.
Chasing Motivation
Stop waiting to "feel motivated" to work out.
Seriously.
Stop it right now.
Motivation is like your flaky friend who only shows up when the weather's perfect. And trust me, there will be days when your mind will throw every possible reason at you to not work out.
You can't build a sustainable fitness habit on motivation any more than you can build a career on "feeling inspired" to go to work. You have to show up, regardless of how you feel.
Instead, you need to build systems. Put your workout clothes out the night before. Set a fixed gym time. Make it non-negotiable, like brushing your teeth or showing up for work.
The secret?
Start so small it feels stupid. Ten minutes. That's your bar for success. Often you'll do more, but ten minutes is your daily win.
The Intensity Addiction
You don't need to destroy yourself every workout to make progress. In fact, that's the fastest way to burn out or get injured.
When you’re just starting out, you’re going to be sore. I’m telling you now your brain will come up with 1,001 reasons as to why you not only must take a break, but because you’re sore you deserve a break.
It’s nonsense.
And the easiest way to overcome these brain tricks is to focus on showing up rather than the intensity. Every workout isn’t going to be a new personal record. A lot of days are going to suck.
And when those days happen your job is to show up and go through the motions. This is what will keep you showing up the next day, and the next day, and the day after that.
Your body doesn't know what "Monday's chest day" or "leg day" is. It only knows stress and recovery. Give it enough of the first and plenty of the second.
Program Hopping
"This isn't working fast enough. Maybe I should try that other program I saw on Instagram..."
Stop. Just stop.
99.999% of the time the problem isn’t the fitness routine, it’s you.
I frequently fall into this trap when I try to convince myself that a $2,000 set of golf clubs will fix my $2 swing. It won’t, and it never will.
*Almost* every program works if you stick to it long enough. But no program works if you quit after three weeks because you're not seeing "results."
The magic isn't in the program–it's in the consistency.
Pick something simple and do it for three months minimum. Get boring. Get consistent. Get results.
The goal isn't to transform your body in 45 days. The goal is to build a habit that will transform your life over the next 45 years.
The Scale Obsession
Want to know the fastest way to kill your motivation?
Weighing yourself every day and freaking out about normal fluctuations.
In fact, do yourself a favor and throw your scale in the garbage.
Your body is not a linear progress machine. It's a complex system that changes based on sleep, stress, water retention, diet, and about a million other factors.
Focus on what you can control:
Your daily habits.
Your effort in the gym.
Your workout consistency.
Track your progress in appearances, reps, and sets. Be the guy (or girl) that shows up everyday–that’s you. Over time, you’ll begin to notice how your clothes fit differently.
These are the metrics that actually matter.
The Bottom Line
Getting in shape is simple, but not easy. And it's hard because it requires consistency over intensity, patience over perfection, and systems over motivation.
Pick one of these mistakes - the one you know you're making right now - and fix it this coming week.
Just one.
That's your only job next week.
Remember, you don't need to be perfect.
You just need to be consistent.
Everything else will fall into place if you show up and do the work.
Now get after it.
Great advice!
100% agree but I do weigh every day. Doesn’t upset me, just want the data point. Definitely not expecting to see a big change daily or even weekly, but it does keep me on the path.