The 5: Maximizing effort by minimizing mistakes

With the exception of performing exercises that can lead to injury or over-training, there are none that are wrong, per se. I realize this seems to fly in the face of an entry I just wrote about ineffective exercises, but there is a distinction that needs to be observed between wrong and ineffective.

The goal of any exerciser, whether they are a seasoned workout veteran or an ambitious newbie, should be to get the maximum results possible from the effort they are willing to expend. This is why there isn't any time to waste on ineffective exercises, just as there is no room for common mistakes that can hinder your progress.

Here are five mistakes that exercisers frequently make, serving to reduce the effectiveness of their dedicated effort:

1. Holding On. All too often, you'll see people on an elliptical, treadmill, or StairMaster holding onto the safety railings and leaning onto the machine. Unless you need to hold on for stability purposes, don't. Doing so can lead to back pain over time and also reduces the amount of calories that you'll burn.

2. Swinging. When lifting weights, always maintain proper form throughout the entire movement. If you have to twist, turn, contort, and kip your body to lift a weight, then it's probably too heavy for you. As a general rule, stick to weights that you can lift for at least 8 reps but no more than 15.

3. Only Doing Cardio. By and large, we begin losing muscle mass somewhere around the age of 30. As effective as cardio is at promoting improved circulation, weight loss, and a host of other health benefits, it does little in the way of rebuilding muscle. Not interested in building muscle? Fine. But you may want to know that the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will be and the more calories you'll burn. Still don't want to build muscle?

4. Doing Outdated Exercises. This is different than sticking to the basics, an approach I'm actually a big fan of. Outdated exercises, by contrast, are those that may have been effective for warming you up for your 4th grade gym class, but they're not really going to cut it if your serious about getting in better shape today. Granted, if you did 10,000 windmills and 5,000 toe touches, you'll burn a boatload of calories. But, you'll be hard pressed to finish that workout in under 6 hours. Again, ineffective and wrong are not the same thing.

5. Thinking You Can Eat Whatever You Want. You can't. Aside from the attention you should still be paying to cholesterol and blood sugar levels when choosing your diet, you should also take your workout into account. Which do you think will provide you with the fuel necessary to give it all you've got in the gym: A healthy meal or a bag of Chips Ahoy cookies? And, what's more, if you're working hard to burn calories you've already stored, why would you purposely curtail your progress by adding an extra three or four thousand more than you should be?

There are at least a dozen more of these that I could mention, but I think 5 is good for now. And by no means am I claiming to be above making any of these mistakes. I look at that list and see at least three that I've made at some point over the years. Hopefully me pointing them out now will help some of you avoid making them with your own workouts.