Workout Routine Mistakes and Advice

7 Reasons You’ll NEVER Lose Fat and Get in Great Shape Working Out on Your Own!

Over the past 20+ years, I’ve seen a lot of people attempt and fail at getting and staying in shape. I’ve seen a lot of fads, gimmicks and magazines touting the latest workout routine. Failure is usually the result if misinformation and the lack of motivation that stems from not seeing results. Here are the seven most common mistakes I see and some things you can do to avoid them.

Workout Routine Mistake #1 – You Don’t Know What to Do

This is an observation I’ve made over the past 22 years helping people get fit. When I go to the gym I continue to see people wandering around aimlessly trying to figure out a workout routine on their own.

They might have a magazine workout (or the like) that they’re trying to follow but it’s evident that they’re still lost.

How about you?

Like most people pursuing fitness, even though you workout, you’re probably not quite sure what to do when working out. I mean how could you with all those machines, bands, balls, benches, and weights? It can be pretty intimidating.

Ok, maybe you have some idea how to workout but are you really doing the exercises correctly? Are you taking the right amount of rest between exercises that will elicit maximum fat burning? Are you using the appropriate weight specific to burning fat and building lean muscle?

But how are you supposed to know all of this? You’re not a fitness professional and you’re probably overwhelmed from all the advice everyone seems to be giving you about what workout routines you should be doing.

Just take a deep breath….XT50 Takes the mystery out of getting physically fit!

Workout Routine Mistake #2 – Working Out TOO Much

This is a biggie!

We live in a world where we are told that if some is good, more is better.

But not in this case! Working out more is not something you want to do. There is a happy medium between not working out enough and working out too much.

On the “too much” side we need look no further than pro athletes. Just out of curiosity, how long do their careers last? If they’re lucky, into their mid-30s. That’s because their bodies CANNOT handle the years and years of physical stress that comes with so much training and competition.

If you worked out as much as most pro athletes do (ie. 5-6 times per week, 15-20+ hours total) you would be setting yourself up for a life of pain, degeneration, and overall breakdown.

Working out too much leads to overtraining and overtraining can literally REVERSE any fat loss gains you’ve made. Believe me, it’s not something you want to have happen to you. It can take months and even years to recover from!

If you live on planet earth, you probably want more time, right? More time for yourself, more time with your kids and your family, more time to do whatever the heck you want. I know I do.

And that’s why, unlike many other workout routines that you see on TV, I will never ask you to take a “part time job” working out in a gym 10-15+ hours a week. XT50 takes just a few hours a week to do and the results are spectacular.

Why would you do that when you can burn more fat and get even fitter in less than half that time?

Because here’s how your body works…

If you workout a lot or for an extended period time (ie. more than 30 minutes) you are forced to reduce your workout intensity. It’s physically impossible not to.

For instance, is it possible to sprint for 10 minutes straight. Nope.

But you can certainly jog at a slower pace for 10 minutes or longer, right?

The same thing goes for your workout routine. And this is important to understand because the intensity – not the duration – of your workout routine is the most important factor when it comes to burning calories during and after your session.

What that means for you is that instead of wasting your time working out for an hour, 6 days per week, without much direction or focus, you can easily cut your workouts in HALF simply by challenging your body in new and exciting ways.

Just think of how much time you would get back in your life. Instead of working out 10+ hours per week, you can now get better results with just 3-4 hours per week, meaning you have now a new found 6-7 hours each week for your kids, to prepare healthy meals, to go out with friends, etc…

And you probably won’t even believe me when I tell you that most of my workouts last anywhere from 15-33 minutes. We do a warm up and a cool down and we can pack all the in approximately 40-50 minutes!

But don’t worry, I’ll show you how you can enjoy these same quick workouts that are proven to burn more fat and get you in the best shape of your life.

Workout Routine Mistake #3 – The Start and Stop Effect

How many times have you embarked on a new workout regime, then after a just a few weeks, stopped? And then when you hit that “pain threshold” again (as did Jill) you start up once more?

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably done this quite a bit.

But once again, it’s not your fault!!!

In my experience, the reason that most people are not consistent with their workouts is because their workouts are boring, don’t produce visible results quickly enough, and are not a sustainable in the long run.

On this last point, we can refer back to Mistake #2…

If your workout routine takes 1-2 hours per day, 6 days per week, how long can possibly keep that going? Even if you’re the world’s biggest exercise enthusiast, at some point you’ve got say “Enough is enough!”

A lack of consistency is a real dream killer!

Not being consistent with your workouts (or eating well for that matter) will halt your ability to burn fat and get fit to a stand still.

We all have that friend who goes “hardcore”, training every day for a month (perhaps to get ready for that tropical vacation), and then they become satisfied with the results they see… so they stop.

They become comfortable with how they look, and thus the “pain to change ” is no longer there. So, they take their foot off the gas pedal until…

Yet again, they get to that breaking point where they’ve put the weight back on, their clothes don’t fit, or they feel horribly out of shape by walking up a set of stairs. Then, if they’re lucky, they start the cycle again. It’s the human syndrome. Can you relate?

If you have been inconsistent with your workouts then don’t worry, that will be a thing of the past by the time you leave this website.

Although all the “mistakes” I’m bringing up on this page truly hurt your chances to losing fat and getting in great shape, a lack of consistency – this start and stop effect – is probably the biggest.

And that goes for anyone in any area of life. You’re either consistent or your non-existent.

I’ll help you become consistent and help you start…without the stop. Sound good?

Workout Routine Mistake #4 – Being Impatient and Not Having Faith

I know you want to lose fat, get fit, and have a stellar body…yesterday.

Who doesn’t?

But this impatience has caused far too many exercisers to give up too early in their fat loss journey. And in some cases, they’ve given up just before amazing breakthroughs were about to occur.

Have you ever given up too soon?

I understand that you get frustrated if you don’t see immediate results. You want your clothes to fit better and for the number on the scale to be a lot lower. You also want to SEE your stomach get toned, those loose areas to get tighter, and for others to notice how good you look. I get it.

And you can absolutely have all of that… and then some!

But just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, it takes a little bit of time to create your ideal body.

I’m not going to lie to you and make false claims when that’s the simple reality. However, you can achieve your goals – no matter what they are – if you simply stick to a proven plan and have faith in the process (and yourself).

Talk to any successful person and they will tell you that the key to their success was persistence!

I understand that we are more impatient than ever and we all want instant results. But I honestly care about your success and that’s why I cannot lie to you, as many others have.

So how long does it take to lose fat and get in great shape, you ask?

Well that depends on where you’re starting, what type of workout routine you’re doing, how you’re eating, and if you’re making any of these 7 mistakes.

But one thing I can tell you is that by the time you’ve made it through this page, your fat loss and fitness goals will be much closer than ever before!

Without a shadow of a doubt, I can tell that by being patient, following a proven workout program, and having faith in the process…

You can achieve anything, including losing 10, 20, 30 pounds (or more) of body fat in just a few short weeks!

I’ve seen it happen again and again with thousands of my clients. And I look forward to helping you achieve the same results as well!

Listen, if you’ve been working out for a while with some other workout program and you still haven’t seen the results you want…

Then it’s time to change your approach!

Patience and persistence are key to success but only if you’re using the RIGHT workout routine for you! A workout program that will fit into your busy schedule. One that will motivate and encourage you. One that will produce incredible results with just 3 short workouts per week!

Just wait until you see what I’ve got for you!

But first, let’s uncover the next big workout mistake….

Workout Routine Mistake #5 – Stale Workouts That Bore You to Death

Nothing is worse than following a boring “cookie-cutter” workout routine that you’ve pulled from a magazine or an ebook that gives you little more than a workout plan and exercise pictures for you to figure out on your own.

Now, you’re in the gym or working out at home, looking at this ridiculous piece of paper wondering if you’re even doing the exercises properly.

Come on!

How much motivation can you expect from a piece of paper?

But maybe you don’t mind following these “paper workouts”, instead…

You’re just sick and tired of doing the same BORING workout routine over and over again.

I know I am!

How on earth are you supposed to be consistent with your workouts if you can’t stand doing them in the first place?

That’s why I never have my clients do the same workout more than a few times in any given 4 week period. There’s a fine balance between seeing progress from the same workout and getting sick of it.

Thankfully, you don’t have to worry about that.

I’ve taken care of that for you!

Your body CRAVES change. In fact, it requires new and exciting challenges in order to continually improve and avoid hitting plateaus. But if you keep doing the same workout for several weeks or even months, it’s only a matter of time before you hit the dreaded plateau, at which point no more progress can be made! This is what seperats XT50 from the rest of the pack. You never get stuck doing the same workout routine over and over.

You don’t want that do you?

Wouldn’t you rather enjoy quick workouts that actually excite you? Workout routines that pump you up and make you want to workout? Workouts that constantly evolve to meet your ever-improving level of fitness and prevent you from ever hitting a fat loss plateau?

That’s what I’m talking about! Here’s a Hint:

I’ll show you how working out can be fun, highly rewarding, and something you actually look forward to! The XT50 workout routine is designed to fix all of the issues I talk about in this article.

Workout Routine Mistake #6 – Light Weights, Lots of Reps, and Tons of Cardio

These are severely out-dated methods of exercising to lose fat. About 30 years out of date to be exact.

But these 3 “old-school” ideas are still prevalent today, especially among women. This one is definitely not your fault.

The reason that so many people believe that lifting light weights, doing lots of reps, and tons of cardio is the key to fat loss is because that is what THEY told us back in the 1980s.

Who’s they?

All those aerobics instructors in their leotards, throwing around little 5-pound weights,
Those cardio machines that tell you to exercise lightly so that you will stay in your “fat burning” zone,
And the collective belief among women that lifting weights will make them bulky.

Let me clear me the air once and for all!

ALL OF THIS IS WRONG!!!

First, lifting light weights is a waste of time. You’re better off doing body-weight exercises. The point of working out is to get stronger to build more lean muscle, which, in turn, will elevate your metabolism so that you burn more fat in the long-run.

Lifting weights lighter than a bag of groceries is an utter waste of time. Avoid 2, 3, and 5-pound weights.

You need to lift heavier weights. In doing so, you will inevitably be able to do fewer repetitions. Women, I know this might sound like witchcraft but it’s what you need to do if you really want to burn fat and get lean – for good!

This is all about quick changes that produce long-term results.

Workout Routine Mistake # 7 – The Push CANNOT Come From Within

I don’t care how motivated you are to lose fat and get in great shape. It doesn’t matter if you hit the gym 7 days a week (not that that’s a good thing) or live an active life.

The truth of the matter is that you will never be able to push yourself as much as someone else will. That’s why clients who hire a trainer have a much greater success rate than those who simply try to workout on their own.

This PUSH is very very important. Why?

Because when you workout on your own it’s too easy to give up when you feel tired or your muscles begin to burn. It’s easy to say “I’ve done enough”.

But unfortunately, failing to do that extra little bit is hurting your chances of achieving greatness!

Extraordinary results can never be achieved by ordinary actions. You need to be able to go that extra little bit. Those last 1-2 reps or final few seconds doing intervals are what counts when it comes to creating the lean body you want.

Great bodies are not created by mediocre workouts.

And I know it’s not easy to do on your own…

If it were, we’d have an epidemic of fit bodies instead overweight, unhealthy ones.

Let’s get started today with a fitness program you can do in your home, stick with and see amazing results!

Jim Steffen has appeared on Jay Leno, Live! with Regis and Kelly, ESPN’s Sports Nation and numerous other outlets. He regularly speaks to businesses, schools and organizations around the country about the importance of good physical fitness and how it improves everything in your life. Booking Jim Steffen can be done through the XT50 site.