Working out is a great way to keep fit and healthy, and many Americans enjoy a workout session either at home or in the gym on a regular basis. But thanks to the busy lifestyles people lead in the modern world, it can sometimes seem as though a workout is something to be crammed into a very short space of time – and that can lead to you pushing yourself too hard. From experiencing aching quads or finding yourself exhibiting out of character behaviors, there are a lot of potential problems. Here are some indicators that your workout has gone too far along with what you can do to manage the problem.
Aching quads
The quads are the big muscles that are located on the front part of your thigh and connect your knee and groin. If you perform certain types of exercise such as squats, it’s likely that these important parts of your body may have suffered some pain and strain from time to time. This can have a real effect on your day-to-day functioning and can sometimes even have an impact on your ability to walk properly. Luckily, there are some ways to cut down on the impact that an injury can have on you – and you don’t need expensive equipment either. By investing in some discounted compression tights, you can protect your quads from the negative side effects of exercise and enjoy your workout as normal.
Feeling dehydrated
When you exercise, one of the most obvious signs that your workout is going well is the presence of sweat. But it also means you’re losing fluid from your body. If you start to feel light headed and dizzy following a workout, one of the potential causes is dehydration – which is a condition that involves lacking enough fluid to replace what is lost through sweating. If this is happening, make sure you take a break and consume some water or an exercise energy drink, depending on your wider health and fitness regime.
Unrelated medical symptoms
It’s much easier to understand what your body is trying to tell you when a part hurts or when you’re sweating so much you lose hydration. But it can be more difficult to see what’s wrong with your workout when you experience a variety of seemingly unrelated medical conditions every time you work out, such as changes in the appearance of your urine or constantly feeling sick.
It’s worth speaking to a doctor if these sorts of symptoms follow an intense workout, as it’s possible that you’re suffering from a medical condition known as rhabdomyolysis. This condition causes the fibers of your muscles to die following an injury. Following this, there is sometimes nowhere else for the dead fibers to go other than into your bloodstream, which can cause major problems. Of course, there’s no guarantee that any nausea or other symptoms are caused by rhabdomyolysis, but any overlapping symptoms are likely to be a sign that things aren’t going so well with your workouts and that you should consider changing tack.
Psychological signs
The main way to tell whether your workouts are going too far, of course, is to listen to your body. But sometimes you also need to listen to your mind in order to ascertain whether or not things are getting to be too much. If you find yourself often turning down social events in order to exercise, for example, you may be suffering from exercise addiction.
Exercise should be something that you enjoy and keeps you healthy – not something that you feel like you’re a prisoner of. If you fall into this category, it’s wise to consider cutting down on the amount of exercise you do. Some people also experience phenomena like panic attacks as a result of doing too much exercise (or, indeed, worrying about whether they’re doing enough). In the event that this happens, you should stop exercising immediately and go to the emergency room if you need to.
Exercise is a good thing to do in order to stay active and well, but it needs to be kept in check to prevent it from causing more problems than it solves. Some of these problems can include dehydration, nausea, muscle injuries and more. If you think you are exercising too much, it’s a good idea to scale it back and have a rest before thinking about re-planning your regime. In short, by remaining aware of your habits and how they affect you, you can enjoy a good exercise life without causing yourself too much trouble.
