Failure to set goals – Goal setting is one of the most important aspects in anything you attempt. What do you want to accomplish and in what time frame? If you don't have concrete goals, you don't have a plan.

You should set short-term goals, (daily and/or weekly) as well as long-term goals (monthly and/or yearly). Goals give you vision and depth. They allow you to work toward something, rather than floating around aimlessly with nothing to shoot for.

Jumping in with both feet – Jumping into a fitness program with both feet is very common. Many times people get all ho-hum with their goals and exercise program and have a do-or-die attitude. Granted, it's a good attitude to have, but it can also be a legacy.

Begin your program slowly by taking small successful steps each day, week, and month rather than just diving into the program and hitting rock bottom suddenly. You must have elbow room to ensure success. The body does respond to small amounts of exercise and those who begin by doing too much too quickly end up on the sidelines due to burnout.

Carrying all your eggs in one basket – All too often, many people begin their fitness endeavors by cutting calories, adding endless hours of cardio, and popping weight loss supplements left and right. Your body adapts very quickly and if you use all your resources at one time, you won't have anything to fall back on when you hit a stalling point.

Begin lowering calories slowly and adding cardio slowly. Keep harmony and balance. After a few weeks you can incorporate the supplement of your choice to help give the body a boost.

Not knowing where to begin – Not knowing where to begin is not uncommon. Many people don't have a starting point or know how to create one. Establishing a starting point is crucial and can be a significant factor in your success.

A quality starting point should include your current body status (weight and body fat percentage). This will allow you to determine your caloric base and macro nutrient intake. In addition to your stats, you need to make a fitness plan to include resistance training and cardio to build lean muscle and decrease body fat.

Not following the fitness plan – Many create wonderful fitness programs, yet fail to follow it properly. This can be anything from not doing it at all or simply doing too much. Most of the time my focus is on those not following it, but in this case I want to tap on those who do follow it, but in excess.

If you create a plan of weight training four days a week for 45 to 60 minutes and cardio for four days a week for 30 minutes for the first week and cardio 40 minutes the second week, then do that. Don't overstate your cardio before it's time. More is not better. It's how you implement it.

Improper nutrition – You can exercise until you are blue in the face and you won't see desired results until your nutrition is in order. Many venturing onto a fitness program choose poor quality food rather than whole food that nourishes the body.

For continual success in your fitness endeavors, set short and long-term goals, pace yourself, create a fitness program and follow it as prescribed. Staying consistent on your program will ensure success.
Author: Karen Sessions

yogie wrote: Jumping in with both feet – Jumping into a fitness program with both feet is very common. Many times people get all ho-hum with their goals and exercise program and have a do-or-die attitude. Granted, it's a good attitude to have, but it can also be a legacy.

I strongly agree with the above conclusion just because I have already run into some people who tried to manage training programs but failed before they cross the half of the road!



When you see a youngster doing some exercises on his/her own, you first perceive this as a magnificent step for the rest of the life of him/her. However, you will probably observe some problems with the exercise program; irregularities in the schedule, little care for mental health, etc. Unless it is advised by a therapist, it is very hard for all of us to decide the criteria our exercise program should depend on, and youngsters are those people who suffer most from such a problem.



Exercise programs can be analyzed in terms of person's needs and transformed into an optimum one for the highest efficiency taking into consideration the person's age, physical status, mental behavior manners, etc. Only after a careful examination of such routines can professionals agree on a profitable exercise plan, and the person taking this program seriously will probably get what s/he would like to have, at the end