There’s nothing wrong with adding more exercise to your daily routine. In fact, I actively encourage it, but when you exercise you do need to look after the health of your body. It’s important that you don’t risk your health because you are so intent on losing those pounds or getting beach body ready. We’ve talked about this before with an emphasis on the skin. While it’s true your skin can be put in jeopardy when you workout, it’s not the only area of the body that you need to look after.
Those Aching Muscles
You have to make sure that you are looking after your muscles as much as possible. It’s always a good idea to stretch before any exercise, and the reason for this is obvious. It gives your muscles a chance to get used to the situation before you start working them to the point of pain. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t be working your muscles to the point of pain at all. No pain, no gain is a ridiculous phrase and one that can be quite dangerous. People often think that if you’re not in pain after you work out you’re not doing enough. Pain is a sign that you’ve pushed your body too far and over exercised your muscles. Not being able to lift your arms or move after a heavy workout can lead to long lasting damage, if your body doesn’t recover. That’s particularly true once you reach a certain age.
The problem is that we often base our workout goals on the stars and celebs who can drop fat and build pounds of muscle in a matter of weeks. It’s important to remember that they are all working with skilled fitness trainers. These pros will tell them exactly how much they can do before they put their body in harm’s way.
So, what can you do to protect yourself? Well, keep track of how much you’re working out and try to maintain a constant level of exercise without pushing yourself further than you should. If you do this, you should be able to avoid the pain and the possible danger that comes with over working those muscles.
In The Heat Of The Day
Everyone loves exercising outdoors when it’s hot and sunny, but you do want to be careful for two reasons. The first is dehydration. You can get dehydrated anywhere exercising, but outdoors it’s particularly dangerous with the sun beating down on you. Make sure if you are going for a run, you take plenty of water with you in a backpack. If you don’t want to take water, do stop off and get drinks while you’re on the go and avoid the energy drinks. Packed full of sugar, these will keep you energized but they won’t keep your body hydrated. For that, you definitely need to drink at least one liter of water during an intense exercise routine.
The other issue with working out outdoors is the danger from the sun. If you’re not careful, the sun will burn you without even realizing it. Mango butter can be the miracle cure for sunburn, providing immediate relief. But if possible, you want to avoid the burn completely. You can do that if you make sure that you’re not exercising in the heat of the day and you do wear sunscreen. Remember, putting on sunscreen is far more important than making sure you have makeup on when you’re running. Coincidentally, mango butter can also be used for something else during exercise. When you workout you might find you lose weight or gain muscle quickly. If that’s the case your skin will stretching leaving stretch marks. You can get rid of them by applying mango butter once a day for several weeks. You should do this as soon as you notice the stretch marks develop. While not painful, they can be unsightly and may affect your confidence next time you workout at the gym.
Intense Exercise
There are various intense forms of exercise that can do more harm than good. An example of this form of exercise would be sprinting or even long distance running. Both put immense pressure on your body and in particular the joints in your legs. As such, researchers believe that running when younger could increase the chances of developing arthritis at a later age. That’s why it is worth taking caution and perhaps choosing a less intensive form of exercise. Yoga is just as good for your body as running and doesn’t put any physical pressure on your joints at all.
Of course, some people just can’t resist the feel of sprinting as the breath surges from your body and every muscle aches, just as the endorphins kick in. If that sounds like you, there are a few steps to take to protect the health of your body. You should certainly make sure you are stretching properly before running and if you are a marathon runner train for any major event. As well as this, it’s important to make sure that you are wearing the right shoes. Trainers with memory foam padding will provide an extra level of comfort for your feet and help you avoid the chronic foot pain that some runners develop. Finally, you should make sure that you do take breaks between exercising of one or more days to give your body a chance to recover.
As you can see then, there are various ways that we put our bodies at risk when we exercise. We put our muscles under immense pressure and don’t always take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves. Particularly when working out in different environments. But we should, and it’s crucial that we do look after our bodies when we aim for a better figure or more muscle. Not doing so could lead to serious issues with our health later in life. You might feel fine now, but your body won’t bounce back forever so take this advice and learn to work on yourself while still protecting your health.
