With the weather turning to a wintry mix of wet and cold, many of us will start our seasonal migration back to the gym.

The gym is a great place to stay in shape during colder months, but it comes with many hazards. Since becoming a Certified Personal Trainer a number of years ago, I have become keenly aware of all the pitfalls and mistakes people make when they hit the gym. The one thing both experienced and newbie gym goers have in common is they tend to make the same mistakes. Workouts can and should be challenging, so making a few mistakes during a workout is common. However, some should never be made.

Here are six of what I consider to be the worst mistakes you can make during a gym workout.

1. Train the trainer; at the top of my list, you think you can train yourself into great shape. This is true once you truly understand what needs to be done and how to do it. Having gone through an extensive certification training program and working with personal trainers over the years, there is still much I don’t know when it comes to exercise. Now with that said, everyone who uses weight-training equipment and wants to get the most out of all their exercise routines should work with a Certified Personal Trainer from time to time. This is critically important for first-time gym goers, but equally important for longtime gym members to tune up their knowledge and form. Be trained to be the best trainer of yourself.

2. My No. 2 leading mistake from my perspective is a big one. When you look at the percentage of people who drop out of life changing health and fitness efforts, it is a big number. With percentages out there from above 80 percent for those who quit within a few months to the 70 percent of those who dropout over the course of a year, it is dismal. Not setting realistic goals is a huge mistake, one that will waste time, money and impact your health. Besides injury, unrealistic fitness goals is a leading cause of dropping exercise. The key to your fitness success is planning a training goal that works for your body type, schedule and skill. Start slow, but be consistent with your efforts. Get to the gym even if you only get a few exercises in each time, but keep going. Be sure to get guidance and set an appropriate expectation and be sure to track your progress. You should also include a nutrition plan that supports your workout goals.

3. Form — or bad form — is No. 3 on my biggest mistake list at the gym. For those of you who go to the gym, you have seen people doing exercises that you know is not good form. The quickest way to learn how will your insurances cover you is bad form at the gym. It doesn’t really matter if it’s free weights or weight machines, if you do not know how to set up the equipment and properly do the exercises, you will get injured. Learn how to do the exercise, ask questions, and you must make sure the machines are adjusted properly to your body size. Keep in mind that improperly adjusted machines cannot only lead to injury, but you are also wasting your time getting zero results from the exercise.

4. Do you get a full body workout? The fourth really big mistake points to people who take an unbalanced strength-training approach. If you’re not sure what unbalanced strength training is, think of those exercises that you are really good at, finding them easy to do and show big gains quickly. Now think of all those exercises you dislike and don’t do or don’t do effectively. It is fairly common for people to focus on certain muscle groups when working out. This happens for a number of reasons: easy to do, vanity because you want killer biceps, perhaps it’s due to injury as you avoid working a specific area. No matter the reason, mismanaged strength training creates injuries, posture problems and weakness.

5. One of the most common mistakes is not enough variety across exercises and muscle groups. So many people love their routines to the point that things get missed. Why is that a problem? If you lock yourself into the same exercise sets over and over, a few negative things start to happen. First, your body will quickly adapt, making it easy for your muscles to handle the load. This means you will not grow your strength and toning beyond a specific point. The second issue comes in the form of hitting a plateau where little progress is made in your fitness. Making sure you maintain gradual progression is an important component in a successful and effective exercise program.

6. Poor gym etiquette makes my sixth biggest gym mistake. Poor gym etiquette has a pretty wide range of issues tied to it. Let’s start with the easiest: using your cell phone and being super social. Most people are at the gym to be focused and get a great workout in. It is very distracting when smart phones are ringing, loud talking, etc. Most gyms are busy places, so working quickly through your routine is important, lingering on machines through sets or after you’re done is wasting your time and others’ time. Here is one of my pet peeves: beast mode behavior and it is disturbing to almost everyone at the gym. With beast mode, I am referring to the grunting loudly, tossing weights, primal screams, dropping the F-bomb, which is very poor etiquette. Another pretty disgusting aspect is not wiping your sweat from machines once you’re finished. Following a few basic common-sense gym behaviors will certainly lend itself to being considerate of other gym members.

When you live in a cold climate like ours, the gym is an awesome place to stay tuned up and in shape. It is in your best interest to use best practices when working out at the gym.

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Judd Jones is a director for The Hagadone Corporation in Coeur d’Alene.