Six Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Workouts

New Year’s resolution? What’s that?

Many people have long fallen off the wagon in terms of their beginning-of-the-year vows, including their weight loss plans and goals. This is often because of a lack of visible progress, a lack of willpower, or just plain busyness and distraction.

If you’ve been struggling to see results from a new fitness program, it could be that you’re making common errors. Here are six ways you might be unknowingly sabotaging your workouts:

[lz_third_party align=center width=630 includes=https://portal.aolonnetwork.com/o2/search/v/5660f0eee4b068d3420ca3b7#Basic%20Information]

1.) You’re not getting enough sleep.
A lack of good sleep is one of the biggest contributors to poor workout performance. Even mild sleep deprivation can cause premature fatigue, muscle exhaustion, and increased perception of difficulty. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep every night.

2.) You’re not eating a post-workout meal.
If you find that you’re too busy after your workouts to eat a good, post-workout meal — or after a late night workout you’re just too tired and go right to bed — then you could be holding yourself back. Immediately after a workout, particularly one with weights, your body is extra-sensitive to vital nutrients like carbohydrates and protein to help the recovery and muscle-building process. If you rob your body of these nutrients, then you’re also robbing yourself of these potential improvements.

[lz_third_party align=center includes=]

3.) You have poor form.
The purpose of weight training is to create controlled, overreaching stress on specifically targeted muscles with the intent to improve their strength and/or composition. The body operates on the principle of least effort, which means the body will naturally always take the path of least resistance.

This may mean that your body, in an effort to reduce the difficulty of an exercise, will adjust any number of factors to “cheat” by recruiting unintended muscles or altering leverages of the body. It’s important to stay vigilant and really focus on where you should be feeling each exercise.

4.) You’re not challenging yourself.
We often tend to take it easy on ourselves, particularly if we don’t enjoy exercise. Remember that the body only adapts when it is forced to adapt — so by doing weights or performing exercises at an intensity that feels “comfortable,” you will not be getting as much benefit. This concept of progressive overload, or gradually increasing the difficulty of exercise over time, is one of the most fundamental concepts in exercise. Your workouts should never be easy. They should, in fact, increase in difficulty over time.

5.) You don’t have clear goals. 
This can derail a fitness program. Imagine trying to construct a new building without any blueprints; you might get there by accident, but you’re mostly going to spin your wheels. Having a goal gives your workouts a purpose, and can help determine what type of training plan is best suited for you.

[lz_third_party align=center width=630 includes=https://portal.aolonnetwork.com/o2/search/v/5890afccdb4bc65a2c78c8c3#Basic%20Information]

6.) You try to be ‘perfect.’ 
If you go for a perfectionist, “all-or-nothing” mindset, you can easily find yourself too discouraged to exercise. Some days it will feel harder than normal, or you won’t perform as well as you had hoped — and if you let this get into your head than it can be very demotivating. Additionally, imagine you only have time to do half your normal workout. A perfectionist might let it go altogether because he or she can’t finish the whole thing. Even half a workout is better than no workout — and can lead to better progress in the long run. Imperfect action beats perfect inaction every time.

Related: Why Your Child Has No Willpower

By acknowledging and eliminating any of these self-sabotaging behaviors, you can ensure you reap the maximum benefit from your workouts, leading to better, more consistent progress and results.

Alex McBrairty is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based personal trainer and owner of A-Team Fitness.