People exercise as a way of doing something good for their health. However, if you are not careful, exercise can be very bad for your health. Doing the wrong type of exercise, or exercising in the wrong way can be crippling, if not deadly. Wanting to stay in shape is not the same as vanity. It is healthy to stay in shape just as long as you have a healthy idea of the shape you want to be in. People with body image issues might try to over sculpt their body in ways that are ultimately harmful. The insatiable drive for bigger muscles can cause you to go past the limits of good health. The same goes for people exercising to lose weight.
Athletes are especially susceptible to unhealthy workouts. They will often ignore all the warning signs to achieve a little more musculature, get a little faster, or slim down just a little more for a competitive advantage. Competition can be one of the things that drives a person to take their health more seriously. But there is a fine line between taking health more seriously and being obsessive about fitness. There are definitely pitfalls where exercise is concerned. Here’s how to avoid them:
Group workouts
Accountability works in both directions. Others can motivate you to push a little more. And they can also recognize when you are pushing too much. Group exercise classes are perfect vehicles of accountability. Those classes are generally led by people who know what they are doing and can recognize the signs of unhealthy strain. When you are in the heat of the moment, it can be hard to tell when enough is enough. You are inundated with messages that insist the only way to achieve gain is through pain, and lots of it. But pain is not the sign that things are going well. It is a sign that things might be going badly.
Group workouts also tend to be heavily regimented so you know exactly what type of workout you will be getting, and for how long. It is not left up to your ability to endure massive amounts of pain. There is a schedule of workout activities curated for the needs of the class with constant supervision. Doing group workouts is among the safest and most satisfying ways to exercise and stay healthy. Check your local area for classes today.
Do Your Research
You can start with searching out tips to stay in the best shape possible. There is something to be said about tapping into the collected wisdom of the internet. That said, there are also books and magazines and streaming programs and video tutorials, and… You get the idea. The more you know about physical fitness, the better you will be at avoiding exercise-related injury. If you see your doctor on a regular basis, ask her about any new exercises you are thinking about starting. If there are warning signs, they will be able to help you avoid the pitfalls.
Exercise that is generally safe might still be unsafe for you. This is why input from your doctor is so important when you have pre-existing conditions. Someone with wrist-related RSI should probably not be lifting free weights. Someone with bad knees should avoid squats. Someone with heart problems should limit how much they run. While these seem like common sense suggestions, there are many issues that aren’t so obvious. Educate yourself so you can be smart about fitness.
Workout Buddy
Weight-lifting is an activity commonly associated with injury. It happens with free weights all the time. One of the reasons is that people often lift alone when they should be utilizing a lifting buddy. When you are bench-pressing, you need someone to spot you so that if you lose control of the weights, they are there to catch them or redirect the falling weight from your body. If you do have heart issues, it doesn’t mean you have to stop running altogether. It does mean you should probably run with a partner so that if you do have an emergency event, someone is there to help. A good workout buddy can make all the difference between something that is safe and something that is unsafe.
Exercise is necessary and healthy, but not always safe. Make it more safe by curbing the excesses, doing group workouts, doing your research, and utilizing a workout buddy.
