7 Biggest Fitness Regrets Of A Personal Trainer

Youth, as they say, is wasted by youth. While I’m glad I spent my 20s developing healthy habits, I also made many mistakes that slowed (or stopped) my progress. Then, as a physical trainer, it took me years to discover certain truths that no one else had taught me. Today, I’m sharing seven of my biggest fitness regrets.

Looking back at my 20s, not only would these habits have helped me today, but if I had started earlier, I would have come so far now. The best part? Regardless of your age, it’s not too late to start any of these tips and reap the rewards for your body and overall health. So keep reading to learn more about my seven biggest fitness regrets and how you can make changes to your own routine to avoid or ditch these mistakes.

Previously, I had learned that passive stretching was not as effective as dynamic stretching. But while dynamic stretching is best done before a sporting activity (workout, game, etc.), stretching has huge benefits. You don’t have to be a pretzel, but decent flexibility does wonders for your muscles, joints, and overall health, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

Now I stretch every day, and it saved my life. If I had started earlier I would have been more flexible now and (probably) could have avoided unnecessary pain and injury.

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I used to think the best way to get in shape was to lift weights and do high-intensity interval training (HIIT). I also believed that long-duration traditional cardio would even sabotage my strength gains.

Big hat. Whatever your fitness goals, cardio has amazing benefits. Research shows it improves your heart health, fitness and brain health and also helps you recover from a tough workout so you can bounce back faster, which helps you build more strength .

Powerlifting includes the barbell back squat, bench press, and deadlift. These exercises are phenomenal for building strength. But if you don’t have the movement skills to do them right, they can be hard on your joints (as I found out the hard way).

If your body can handle powerlifting, great! But don’t think that’s the only way to get big and strong. There are also many other awesome bodybuilding exercises.

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Previously, I ate a lot of foods because they were healthy and delicious, but later found out that they made me bloated, lazy, itchy, etc. due to intolerances (which is different from an “allergy”).

Everyone reacts differently, so keep a journal and note how foods make you feel, perform, sleep, etc.

You often see videos of “crazy transformations” online, but either they took a decade to achieve, or they’re hiding something, or they’re genetic freaks. (Anything “crazy” is usually a red flag.) There’s no point convincing yourself that if you do the exact same thing, you’ll get the same body.

The hard truth is that it takes years to make a massive change in your body. But time will pass anyway, so make habits that will get you there. Focus on long-term play.

I have meditated daily for the past few years, but wish I had started ten years ago. It would have helped tremendously, especially when it comes to dealing with life’s challenges as you grow up.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Remember: health is both physical and mental and they impact each other. Don’t be surprised if improving your mental health will also improve your physical health.

This is one of the hardest lessons I have had to learn. When we feel pain, we are often taught to grit our teeth, be a warrior and overcome it, but that doesn’t prove anything.

If you feel a little “tweaked” at the gym, running, playing basketball, etc., stop and go home. Live to fight another day. For what? Because if you make it worse, you’ll be out for weeks or months, which will cause more problems than if you just stopped then.

Again, play the long game. Good luck.

Anthony J. Yeung