Just making it to the gym is no accomplishment when you’re not making the most out of it. But sometimes, regardless of putting in your maximum effort, you’re unable to see the desired results. What could possibly go wrong? Give these 7 mistakes that you might be making at the gym to improve your workout performance manifold.

1. Wrong Gym shoes

“Give the girl a right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world”. Same goes for your gym trainers. Your gym shoes should entirely depend on what kind of exercises are part of your regime. Your running shoes are not made for lifting and apart from ruining your workout, you can cause serious damage to your feet as well.

A lot of people make the mistake of buying what their best friend at gym did. For all you may know, that friend might be flat footed while your feet could be high arched. Knowing your foot type is key to selecting the right pair of shoes, for which you should run a wet test.

While doing my research for gym footwear, I discovered the Boot Bomb. Very helpful resource that talks about different types of footwear for different needs. What’s really interesting is that this magazine is run by someone who has actually been in the footwear industry for well over a decade, so rest assured that anything you read on there is tested and authentic.

2. Sports Drinks

Although sports drinks are there to help you stay hydrated during the workout, there is one downside to it that the manufacturing companies won’t tell you. Apart from all the vitamins and minerals, sports drinks are full of sugar. This might come across as shocking to you but some of the popular brands may be selling these drinks with sugar content equivalent to that of soda’s.

So much for quitting sodas for life. Since carbohydrates is the major nutrient that needs to be cut down to lose weight, sports drinks might be doing the opposite to you. Its best to stick to water or natural juices during your workout.

3. Too Much Cardio

The chances of your cardio workout doing more harm than good are enormous in the beginning phase, especially when you’re not not being trained by a professional. Following an online tutorial might sound like a cost effective idea, but too much cardio has the same effect on your body as bad stress.

You might be burning calories fast but your nutrient levels may drop below the healthy line without you realizing. Cross training always helps with slowly raising your heart rate, increasing your workout duration. This also builds muscles and strength in the long run that burns calories for you even when you’re not working out.

4. Lack of Motivation

Other than physical factors that affect your workout, psychological factors also have a profound effect on how your gym session turns out to be. One of these is working out alone. One does enjoy that time to oneself, listening to music, without having to talk to anyone, but also causes lack of motivation in the long run.

This motivation can take any form, advice, cheering each other up and even competing with them. When you’re in the mood to skip gym, your friend might be able to push you to come, which especially works wonders when you’re low on self control.

5. You’re Exercising on the Wrong Time

There is no rule of thumb for what time of the day is best for exercising. Some like to workout during the day while others find evening the best time in the day to exercise. However, you don’t want your workout to have the reverse effect by working out after a large meal, when you are sore or by cutting your sleep hours.

Exercising after a large meal means not giving your body enough time to digest the food, causing indigestion symptoms to show up, namely nausea, stomach aches and even vomiting. Similarly, if you cut back on your sleep to make time for exercise, you’ve got it all wrong.

Workout performance drops as your body is unable to recover from the previous exercise before the next workout. Lastly, if you’re still sore from yesterday’s workout, do not exercise. Only do light warm up exercises that help relieve muscle soreness.