11 Fitness Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make in 2021
By: Isaiah Mccall
Tags: Health, Diet, Inspiration, Nutrition, Fitness

11 Fitness Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make in 2021

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It’s time to stop bitching about 2020.

The world doesn’t determine your success — you do. This year I became an ultramarathoner, a nationally certified nutritionist, and wrote a book. There isn’t a thing Trump, the pandemic, or anyone else for that matter could have done to stop me.

Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, “You can either have results or excuses. Not both.”

This time next year let's make sure you have results.

2021 is now.

1. Mistake: Buying An Annual Gym Memberships

A lot of us have this mindset of “Go big, or go home.”

No, stop it, bad, this will not give you results. Consistency will give you results.

Getting an annual gym membership right off the bat in 2021 is setting you up for failure. Take fitness day by day. Try not to visualize accomplishing everything in one fell swoop.

Develop farmer strength, as Joe Rogan puts it. Go to the gym and move at a reasonable pace — do not kill yourself every workout. You’ll burn out.

“Instead of having one workout every three days where you blow your body out, have one workout every day where you don’t blow your body out. And you’ll get stronger quicker.” — Joe Rogan

2. Mistake: Not Using The Squat Rack

I don’t care if you can only squat the bar, or even just your own body weight. The squat rack needs to be in your routine.

In terms of muscle development, you boost your quads and hamstring strength. Stronger quads not only make you more explosive and faster but help support leg extension and protect the knee from instability.

Get off the leg machines — that do not actually build your stabilizer muscles, which are key for building athletic strength — and get on the squat rack.

Train like an athlete and then you will look like one.

3. Big Mistake: Using Leg Machines

Do you use any of these?

Leg Extension Machine

Leg Press

Inner/Outer Thigh Machine

The Donkey Kick (AKA the “Butt Blaster”)

These machines suck. They work your leg muscles in an unnatural way.

When do you ever extend tons of weight from hingeing at your knees like in the extension machine? When have you ever pushed tons of weight from your legs while sitting down like in the Leg Press?

And please do not get me started on the Thigh Machine which puts undue stress on your hips, lower back and IT bands while accomplishing nothing remotely functional. This is aside from looking like it was designed for strippers to use.

These exercises are holding you back from real results. They do not build functional real world strength. In other words, they are not training you like an athlete.

Instead: Squat, Lunge and Deadlift, or any of these.

4. Mistake: Watching Gym Television

I know. They plaster televisions all over your gym. They’re in front of the cardio machines, on every wall, and they've turned them up to max volume.

Now everyone can hear Stephen A. Smith run his mouth.

You may not be able to tune out entirely — but try not to get hypnotized by these idiot boxes.

One hour of what you thought was “intense cardio” on the treadmill was probably just 45-minutes of catching up on the latest Bachelorette episode. The Bachelorette is intense, but it doesn’t burn enough calories to melt body fat the way cardio can.

That is unless it’s season 11 — that one had me sweating bullets.

So, um, anyway, stop zoning out on TV! Remember why you’re in the gym. Make it your freaking dojo.

5. Underrated Mistake: Not Timing Your Workouts

Too much of a good thing is no bueno.

Recovery is essential to building strength. You can easily burn out for the entire week in one gym session.

The ideal time for a workout is anywhere between 30–45 minutes. Many studies have shown that cortisol — the hormone that increases inflammatory responses and lowering of the immune system — increases dramatically after approximately 60 minutes of vigorous exercise.

If you’re starting out, even 20-minutes of intense exercise can be a good place to begin.

Remember: Consistency is key.

6. Dangerous Mistake: Using Tanning Beds

Nearly half of all health clubs in the U.S. have tanning beds, according to recent research published in the journal JAMA Dermatology. And the people who use them crisp themselves 67% more often than they should.

One study showed everyday use of a tanning bed was associated with an increased risk of melanoma (skin cancer) and use prior to age 35 increased the risk of melanoma by 75%.

I’m Black, so I never go the hype behind tanning beds. Regardless, you should use a sauna instead. It may not get you tan, but it’s much better for you.

7. Facepalm Worthy Mistake: Skipping The Sauna

Sauna is therapy. Here are a few insane benefits:

Detoxify Yourself: Many toxins seem to prefer going out through sweat versus blood or urine. Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury has been shown in studies to excrete better through sweat.

Many toxins seem to prefer going out through sweat versus blood or urine. Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury has been shown in studies to excrete better through sweat. Weight Loss: Your heart rate increases while you’re in a sauna, thanks to the dry heat. It’s been suggested that spending 20 minutes in a sauna can help you lose up to 500 calories.

Your heart rate increases while you’re in a sauna, thanks to the dry heat. It’s been suggested that spending 20 minutes in a sauna can help you lose up to 500 calories. Protect Your Brain: A recent study conducted by researchers in Finland found that men who used a sauna four to seven times a week for an average length of 15 minutes had a 66% lower risk of developing dementia, and 65% lower risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Besides that, Dr. Rhonda Patrick, a frequent guest on Joe Rogan’s and Tim Ferriss’s podcast talks about the incredible anti-aging benefits of saunas.

If there’s one amenity you want in a gym, it is a sauna hands down.

8. Huge Mistake: Using Ab Machines

Ab machines suck too.

Your ab-crunchers or ab-twists are not functional training. Abs primary use is to stabilize your core and lumbar spinehow. So, how can they do that while you’re sitting down?

There’s nothing challenging about an ab cruncher or twist. These two machines are a waste of time. You likely will never see your six-pack using them.

Check out my quick guide on a few ab movements that will develop your six-pack. Furthermore, getting you nutrition in check is essential as well.

9. Mistake: Not Working Your Abs Enough

Working out your abs once a week is nice — but it’s likely not enough. Especially if you’re only putting 10–20 minutes of work in on that day.

Abs recover faster than any other muscle group. Some people work out their abs every single day. They train short, but intensely. This means five or six minutes of frequent ab training which is less than 0.3472% of your day.

You do not have to go seven days a week. But four to five days would be a good place to start.

I started my fitness journey with 8-minute abs on YouTube every day. Along with fasting, I developed a six-pack in under a year. AthleanX also has some awesome, short ab routines.

10. Biggest Mistake Ever: Switching to a Diet

Some studies show that 95% of people fail diets. One author, however, put it perfectly: “95% of people do not fail diets; 95% of diets fail people.”

If Keto, Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo, or whatever can work for you in the longterm, then by all means, stick with them. But if you’re dieting for a month, then bingeing for three because your diet is miserable, you need to reassess.

Furthermore, extreme dieting sounds like an eating disorder: Long periods of restrictive eating followed by weeks of bingeing. This is unhealthy for you mind and body.

Try not to look at all foods as bad. Eat more nutritious foods — your vegetables, fruits, and grass-fed meats for example — and every once in a while, give yourself a reward.

Eat the cake, go for it.

Treat eating healthy how a good boss treats a good employee. Reward yourself for good behavior. If you’re nutrition is in check, one slice of cake will not kill you; in fact, it may reset you mentally.

11. Mistake: Not Going Hard On Your Cardio

This year I ran 30 miles straight for the first time ever.

But truth be told, I’m still scared of cardio.

Hill runs, battle ropes, box jumps, all take us to a place where you have to work out like an animal. Once we’re in it, it’s like a drug. Before hand, it’s scary as hell.

HIIT exercises — or high intensity interval training (i.e. hill runs, box jumps) — have incredible benefits.

HIIT builds muscle because the workout requires the body to use more of its muscle tissue to perform. A compelling study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology showed that a specific HIIT workout requires the body to use up to 80% of its muscle fibers.

Cardio can build a nice lean physique if you do the right exercises.

Do not skip it in 2021.