There’s nothing like getting through a good workout. The feeling of pride after accomplishing a challenging new exercise or activity is pretty incomparable.
Just as there are many emotional benefits to working out, there are also a whole lot of physical benefits to fitness, serving purposes from miraculous to medicinal. Many people incorporate workouts into their daily routines for the aforementioned reasons, but what they might not be aware of is how exactly even small mistakes and seemingly harmless habits can affect their health.
These eight exercise habits could actually be doing more harm than good when hitting the gym.
Though it might seem like the key to getting in shape and maintaining weight loss, especially for those motivated by fast results, cardio should be done in moderation in order to see overall changes.
According to Bodybuilding.com, doing too much cardio can lead to aches, pains, and muscle issues, which all qualify as setbacks when it comes to your fitness goals. If you’re running to the point of pain, you’re only doing your body a disservice and honestly, you’re just defeating the point of going to the gym in the first place.
Focusing solely on cardio and becoming a slave to the treadmill is not only unhealthy, it also keeps you from exploring the gym, getting acquainted with other workout regimens, and spending more time on important things like strength training. You can’t just stay in one place (literally) and expect to see overall improvement.
Make sure that as you’re heading to the gym, you’re keeping your workouts varied and you’re doing more than just hitting the treadmill. As if you needed another excuse to cut down on the run.
The culture around working out isn’t always healthy, especially when it comes to the more negative aspects that surround weight loss and so-called “fitspo.” One of the most harmful things these body-shaming conversations around workouts can do is leave gym-goers focused on burning tons of calories and not on developing their individual sense of physical health.
More calories burned does not always mean better health. In fact, it can actually just discourage people from continuing to work out and decrease their longevity in maintaining their physical wellness.
“When people use physical activity as a body sculpting tool, the logical thing to do is to exercise hard, because you want to burn as many calories as possible,” motivation expert Michelle Seger told HuffPost. “But in general, people’s displeasure goes up when they exercise at high intensities, and secondly, when people exercise out of obligation, it turns the activity into a depleting experience.”
Instead of watching numbers and playing the calorie guessing game, just focus on doing activities that help you feel your best.
Ok, so you want to lose five pounds and/or attempt shredding your abs into that six-pack you’ve always wanted. That’s great. Do you want to do it in a week? Not so much.
Be mindful of the goals that you’re setting for yourself. It’s a good idea to hold yourself accountable with a roster of healthy accomplishments and…
