*collaborative post

Hello beautiful people! If you’re a long time reader of mine you would know that I promote a healthy life, whatever that looks like for you. One of my ways to stay healthy is through exercise. However, some of us can end up causing more harm to our body by not exercising correctly. Below are some of the exercise mistakes that could be doing more harm than good.

Exercise Mistakes That Could Be Doing More Harm Than Good

Not warming up

Warm-up exercises such as stretches and light movements (like jogging on the spot or rotating arms) can help to get blood flowing to your muscles and joints. This makes them more supple and ready for intense exercise. Going straight into intense exercise without warming up is like trying to race on cold tires – the risk of a ‘blow-out’ increases. Take five or ten minutes to warm up before you dive into any intense workout. 

Working out on rest days

Rest days are for resting. You can still be active, but you shouldn’t do anything too physically strenuous. If you’ve done an intense workout and your muscles are aching, it’s important that you let your muscles recover. Continuing to work out tired muscles will increase the risk of an injury. This is why you shouldn’t exercise every day unless you’re targeting different parts of your body each day (and even then it’s good to have a few days without any intense exercise to restore your energy levels). 

Ignoring pains and injuries

While there’s some truth to the expression ‘no pain, no gain’, it’s important to realise the difference between a healthy muscle ache and an injury. Stabbing pains or intense aches are never a good sign – it’s important to stop exercising when you experience these pains and not try to exercise through them just so you can reach workout goals. If you do get injured, rest may be required. A physiotherapist may be able to help you recover faster and more efficiently. Continuing to exercise with an injury could make the injury worse – and in some cases could turn a temporary injury into a permanent injury. 

Wearing the wrong footwear

You can also injure yourself while exercising by wearing the wrong footwear. If you’re running or jumping, it’s important that you have enough grip on your soles and enough ankle support. Running shoes are recommended when running for this reason  – ordinary sneakers may not have enough support, and you’re more likely to damage your ankle. Also, shin splints are no fun because it feels like electricity in your splints. Specialist shoes are also recommended for those that get heavily into weightlifting to help with posture.  

Using bad form

Many exercises like lifting have to be done with a certain form. This is not just to work out muscles more effectively, but also to prevent injuries. For example, when doing a deadlift, it’s very important to keep your back straight and generate all your power from the knees. Putting too much strain on your back can lead to a back injury – in fact, incorrect lifting is one of the biggest causes of back injuries. There are many guides online that can tell you the right form when doing exercises. Posture can even make a difference when running as this running form guide demonstrates.

These are some exercise mistakes that could be doing more harm than good. Getting damaged whilst you’re getting healthy is no fun and can be discouraging. I’d love to know which tips you will be taking on board. Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading and until next time, be well! x