Young or old, fitness is a great way to maintain health and meet goals for the summer season. However, well-intentioned exercisers can fall into traps that put their joints and muscles at risk.
Selvan Naicker, brand manager at ActivEze, said understanding how to protect your body while pursuing your fitness goals isn’t only about preventing injuries, as it is also important to optimise your performance and ensure you can stay active for years to come.
“By respecting your body’s limits, progressing gradually and maintaining proper form, you’ll not only reduce your injury risk but also obtain your goals.”
Naicker suggested avoiding the following eight mistakes to ensure an effective and safe training process:
Staying hydrated, eating well and stretching can prevent cramps. (Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels)
Mistake #1: Skipping the warm-up
Perhaps the most critical mistake is jumping straight into intense exercise without properly preparing your body. A good warm-up before a workout widens your blood vessels, ensuring your muscles are well supplied with oxygen. Dedicate five to 10 minutes to light cardio and dynamic movements before your workout. Warming up prevents injuries by loosening your joints and improving blood flow to your muscles, making your muscles less likely to rip, tear, or twist in a harmful way during your workout.
Mistake #2: Doing too much too soon
One of the most dangerous workout mistakes is going from sedentary to superhuman overnight. Never increase the length of your workouts by more than 10% from one week to the next and never increase the length and intensity of your workout at the same time. Sustainable fitness is built over months and years, not days and weeks.
Mistake #3: Ignoring pain signals
Forget the old saying “no pain, no gain.” To build strength and stamina you will need to challenge yourself, but there’s a difference between exertion and injury. Learn to distinguish between normal exercise discomfort and warning signs of injury. Sharp pain, joint pain or pain that persists after your workout should not be ignored. Use a topical such as ActivEze Freeze Spray as an anti-inflammatory with targeted cooling sensation to assist with relief from muscle and joint pain.
Jogging is a great way to combine staying warm and keeping in shape in winter, but it is only one option for a healthy lifestyle programme. Picture: ISTOCK
Mistake #4: Neglecting proper form
Poor exercise form is a recipe for joint stress and muscle strain. When technique breaks down, your body compensates in ways that can create imbalances and increase injury risk. Start with lighter weights or modified movements until you master proper technique. Consider working with a qualified trainer, especially when learning complex movements such as squats, deadlifts and overhead presses.
Mistake #5: Repeating the same movements
Repeating the same muscle movements frequently can lead to overuse and repetitive use injuries such as shin splints and tendinitis. To help prevent overuse injuries, vary your workouts. For example, run on day one and lift weights on day two. This approach not only prevents overuse injuries but also promotes balanced muscle development.
Mistake #6: Ignoring joint health
Many exercisers focus exclusively on building muscle while neglecting the joints that make movement possible. Choose low-impact exercise. Walking, swimming and cycling are good examples. They don’t jolt or put stress on your joints in the way running and jumping do.
Mistake #7: Forgetting to cool down
Warming up prepares your body for exercise and cooling down helps it transition back to rest. Done correctly, warming up and cooling down may offer help in reducing your risk of injury and improving your athletic performance. Spend five to 10 minutes after your workout doing light movement and static stretching. This helps your heart rate gradually return to normal and can reduce muscle soreness.
Mistake #8: Dehydration and poor recovery
Proper hydration supports joint lubrication and muscle function, while adequate recovery allows your body to adapt and strengthen. Drink water before, during and after exercise. Adding a supplement such as CrampEase® to your recovery routine will help to provide the essential nutrients such as calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium.
Avoiding workout mistakes isn’t about being overly cautious, it’s about being smart with your training approach. The best workout routine is one you can stick with consistently over time. Taking care of your joints and muscles today ensures you can continue reaping the benefits of exercise for decades to come.