o you know what the beginner's biggest (and most common) mistake is?
It is trying to do too much too soon.
Consider this: It is your first day at the gym.
You are almost starstruck at the sight of lean and muscular bodies walking around.
All of a sudden, you want to look like that. And you want to look like that r-i-g-h-t n-o-w!
This sudden burst of enthusiasm leads to a marathon workout that lasts upward of two hours. You hit every single apparatus from one corner of the gym to the other.
Later, you drag your soon-to-be muscular glutes slowly down those gym stairs and into the locker room, where you sit back and listen to your abused muscles snap, crackle and pop.
And you think to yourself, "Man! If I keep this up for just a week more, I am gonna be super fit!"
You know what? You're so wrong!
In exercise, more is not always better.
In fact it is pretty much always counterproductive.
What could go wrong?
Overtraining is the beginner's enemy.
And here are the symptoms that could result from it:
1. Constant aches and pains.
2. Decreased immunity.
3. Decrease in appetite.
4. Insomnia or disturbed sleep.
5. Sudden loss in body weight.
6. Higher than normal resting heart rate or blood pressure.
If any of these symptoms appear, take a closer look at your training routine.
Something is definitely excessive somewhere!
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Illustration: Rajesh Karkera
Rustom Warden, a personal trainer, has been running his own personal training gymnasium in Mumbai since 2002.