Rookie fitness fails

Gym mistakes we've all made. Photo: Getty Images.

Whether the first time you stepped foot into a gym was totally intimidating or more like finding your home away from home, we're guessing your gym membership didn't come with an encyclopedia-like knowledge of etiquette, workouts, and which stuff does what.

You've come a long way, lady. And to celebrate that fact, we bring you all of those oh-so-relatable and incredibly embarrassing gym newbie mistakes you'd rather forget you made back in the day.

(You're new to the gym, you say? Browse this list, learn from others' mistakes, and start your gym career off on the right track.)

1. You rocked out on the elliptical sans resistance. "WEEE," said everyone who ever went to town on the elliptical without any resistance. Fun? Yes. Effective? Nope.

2. You never increased the weights you lifted. You thought that picking up a heavier weight would instantly turn you into Arnold Schwarzenegger, so you bicep curled your heart out with those tiny two-pound dumbbells—that is, if you even made it to the scary weight room.

3. You chilled in your workout gear for hours. If only you had a time machine, your vagina would love you so much more.

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4. You wore a regular bra to the gym. Before you were keeping spare sports bras in your purse and at the office, you figured wearing a regular bra wouldn't inhibit your moves that much. You. Were. Wrong.

5. You did crunches on crunches on crunches. Six-pack abs like Britney's are only millions and millions of crunches away—so you thought.

6. You said modifications were for wussies. Alternatives were for the elderly and the weak—not beginners like you.

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7. You made up exercises as you went along on pieces of equipment you weren't familiar with. Raise your hand if you've ever sat down on a Swiss ball and started bouncing, wishing to the strength-training gods that you were burning kilojoules.

8. You didn't invest in a gym lock. Gym lock, shmim lock, doesn't anyone trust anyone anymore? Famous last words.

9. You wandered aimlessly around the facility. You didn't really know where you were going or what to do next—you just eventually copied what the fittest looking girls were doing. Now that you think of it, you might owe them a thank you for showing you the light.

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Easy ways to amp up your workout. Photo: Getty Images.