No matter where you are in your personal quest towards fitness, it’s important to make sure you’re working out safely and effectively. You may think that the way to challenge yourself in your workout is to go harder, run faster, do more pushups, take more classes. Even though your intentions are good, you could be abusing your exercise, and your body, without realizing it. Dasha Libin, for mindbodygreen.com, made a list of signs that it's time to reevaluate your workout. Take a step back and see if any of these things sound like you.
You’re trying to do everything at once. Every time you’re in the gym, you do the same exact full body workout. You switch up the intensity, maybe, but all in all, you’re using the same machines, working the same muscle groups, for the same amount of time every time you work out. Without variation and rest days for certain muscle groups, you’re prone to overuse, injury, and exhaustion. Try focusing on one or two muscle groups or types of exercise in every workout, instead of trying to hit them all every time.
You’re in pain. When you’re on the elliptical, you can feel your knees cry out. You can feel your shoulder muscle strain at the same point during your run. This isn’t typical soreness, this is an injury waiting to happen. If you’re in pain during your workout, stop doing whatever is causing the pain, and adjust your workout to take the pressure off. If you try to work through the pain, you could end up with a much bigger injury. Taking care of yourself now will save you time and more pain.
You basically live at the gym. There is no reason for an effective workout to take more than an hour. If you’re at the gym for three hours every day, chances are you’re just wearing yourself out. There are plenty of ways to burn just as many calories in a 45 minute workout.
You’ve got the wrong goals. If your goal when you get on the treadmill is to burn as many calories as possible, you’ll leave fatigued, stressed, and disappointed. Ideally, you’re exercising to improve your overall physical health, not just burn as much fat as possible. Try making clear fitness goals that look less like “burn 600 calories before I leave today,” and look more like “Run four miles without stopping by the end of the month.” This way, you’re focusing your goals on getting in shape, not obsessing over how much weight you lost.
You basically have to drag yourself to the gym. Everyone has off days, but if you absolutely hate your workout routine, it may not just be a temporary bad mood. There’s no reason to dread your workout, and if you are dreading it, exercise becomes a punishment, not a reward. This leads to workouts filled with stress and lacking in real motivation or progress. Study after study has proven that a positive attitude is one of the most important parts of getting in shape. Talk to a professional about finding an exercise routine that’s both effective and enjoyable. That way, exercise can be what it should be: a way to treat your body to the activity it deserves.
