Are You Guilty of These 7 Common Workout Mistakes?

Whether you wake up before the sun to exercise, sneak in a quick sweat session during lunch, or race to the gym still in your work clothes, we applaud you! Working out can add years to your life.

While a healthy fitness routine is fantastic, it’s common to let your dedication get detoured by human error. As a long-time fitness trainer, Chris Freytag sees it all the time—little workout mistakes that leave you in big pain. 

Lend your health a hand by reading this quick refresher on Chris’s seven common workout mistakes to avoid. And if you’ve already experienced a few of your own “ouch” moments, she has the best pain solutions covered, too!

1. Breezing Past the Warm-Up

With so many of us squeezing exercise into our busy day, we often go straight to the workout and overlook the warm-up. (Big mistake!)

Your body needs a warm-up to prepare both physically and mentally and reduce the risk of injury. You should warm up for at least 5-10 minutes, but if your upcoming workout is a real doozy, the warm-up should be longer.

Start with low-intensity exercises and then progress to match the intensity of the main workout exercises. For example, try walking before jogging or jogging before running. Before strength training, warm up your joints and do some exercises to activate your muscles.

The goal is to increase your heart rate, breathing, and range of motion before the super sweaty stuff starts.

2. Skipping the Cool-Down and Stretching

We’re all guilty of it! Who’s got time for the cool down?

You do, or at least you should start making the time!

Cooling down and stretching are essential to returning your heart rate and breathing to normal. They also reduce the chance of post-exercise muscle spasms or cramping. A cool-down and stretch session also helps decrease muscle soreness and stiffness and keeps your flexibility and range of motion intact. 

As we age, flexibility and range are more important than ever to keep our bodies running smoothly—especially for everyday activities.

3. Going Too Hard Too Often

Floating around in the fitness world right now is this belief that we should work out until we can barely move. Luckily, you don’t have to wage war on your body to get fit!

Of course, there’s no need to skip intense workouts. You do, however, need to give your body time to rest. Take a recovery day and relax or take an active recovery day where you do a less intense form of exercise like walking or light swimming.

Recovery is necessary to allow muscle tissue to heal after being broken down by exercise. Rest days also lessen the risk of injury, pain, and exhaustion.

4. Working Outside Your Fitness Ability

It’s okay to challenge yourself, but it’s necessary to listen to your body—especially if you’re new to fitness.

For example, if you’ve never run 10 miles before, you don’t run 10 miles the first day! Try not to be tempted by something your body isn’t ready for yet.

Just stay in your lane and stay dedicated. You’ll see improvements, and that 10-mile run will soon be on your horizon.

5. Not Using Proper Form

Poor form is usually the result of a lack of proper instruction—and lack of proper instruction is usually the result of not asking for help.

If you’re not sure how to do an exercise or use a machine, ask a gym employee or trainer for help, or research the answer online. If you’re completely new to exercise, a group fitness class will provide better guidance than winging it on your own in the gym.

Tip: Get Healthy U’s exercise library contains hundreds of exercises with pictures and descriptions to help you nail your form!

6. Avoiding Strength Training

If you love cardio but shy away from dumbbells because you don’t want to “bulk up,” you’re setting yourself up for aches and pains now and in the future!

After around age 35, you start to lose about a half pound of muscle a year if you are not actively replacing it. Without muscle, your daily activities like carrying groceries or picking up a grandchild become much more difficult and can even lead to injury or pain.

When you are strong, you are less likely to pull a muscle doing something silly, and your joints will stay better protected. Strength training comes in many different forms: bodyweight exercises, lifting, machines, resistance bands, and more.

Find the strength training workout that is right for you and aim to implement it two to three days a week.

7. Wearing Bad Shoes

If you’re suffering from leg pain, shin pain, or sore hips after a workout, it’s important to pay attention to your shoes.

Have you had the same running shoes for the last 10 years? Do you get a new pair of shoes based on color and not fit? Feet may be at the bottom of your body (and this list!), but they definitely shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Treat your feet right, and your whole body will follow suit. Pick your next pair of workout shoes with the help of a professional at an athletic store, or do your own research online. Make sure you are getting the right fit and the right shoe for your activity of choice.

How to Recover from Workout Pain: The Rice Method

Pain and soreness happen in the quest to get fit. Being hurt isn’t ideal, but it’s not the end of your workout career!

The tried-and-true RICE method is a great first step to getting back into your fitness routine:

• Rest: Take a load off and give your body a break. Rest is important to prevent injuries or soreness from getting worse. You should also avoid putting weight on the affected area.
• Ice: Grab a bag of frozen peas or an ice pack, since cold reduces blood flow and thus limits swelling. An ice pack will also provide a dose of much needed pain-relief. 
• Compression: While compression helps with swelling and pain relief, it can be tricky since not every body part is easy to wrap an ACE bandage around. If you are able to wrap an area tight like your ankle or knee, it can be beneficial!
• Elevation: Control swelling by getting the injured or painful area above heart-level. (Stacked pillows will be your best friend.)

• Category: Fitness