Exercise provides health and fitness benefits, including improved heart function, muscular endurance and weight loss. Exercise also poses a variety of dangers, if you work too hard, use incorrect technique or improperly use equipment. To prevent muscle injury, damage to ligaments and tendons, sudden increases in blood pressure or too much stress on your heart, research the correct techniques, intensity levels and durations of the workouts you plan to do.
Load/Intensity
Even if you use the correct technique, wear the right clothing and shoes, drink plenty of water, warm up and stretch, you can injure yourself trying to do too much. The load of your workout refers to the amount of weight you use, resistance you face or intensity at which you work. If you are new to weightlifting, practice the technique for each lift you plan to do using light weights. For example, to avoid a back injury when doing box squats, place the barbell on your shoulders with no weights to experiment with and adjust your sitting position on the box from which you will stand. For cardio exercises, warm up gradually rather than starting at a high intensity. Calculate your target heart rate for aerobic exercise and use a heart rate monitor to ensure you stay in your range. If you don't have a personal monitor or the machine you are using doesn't have one, use the talk test--if you can't talk while you're working out, you are working too hard. Breath out during difficult muscle contractions, such as a weightlift or pullup, to prevent a sudden increase in you blood pressure level.
Duration
Even if you feel fine during your workout, you can overdo it by exercising too long. Don't push yourself to exhaustion and failure as you begin an exercise program. If you begin to cramp, make compensatory muscle movements instead of using proper technique or begin gasping for breath, slow down and stop. Continuing to work at a slower pace when you are exhausted will not let you get the recovery you need and stopping cold may create muscle stiffness and soreness later, according to MayoClinic.com. If you work too long, you may run low on nutrition and become dizzy or light headed, which can lead to injury if you are working with equipment, such as weights or an exercise machine, such as a treadmill. If you are new to exercise, you might need to gradually build cardiovascular stamina during your first week or so working out, depending on your condition.
Technique
Performing physical movements, such as lifting weights or doing situps, can cause traumatic and repetitive stress injuries. An example of a traumatic injury would be hurting your back trying to deadlift a heavy weight. A repetitive stress injury would include lower back pain from too many situps done improperly. Fatigue often causes compensatory movements that lead to injury. For example, as you tire during situps, you may begin to use your arms to pull you up and forward, jerking and stressing your neck and back. Make sure you learn the correct technique for each exercise you do and monitor your technique as you begin to fatigue.
Dehydration/Heat Stroke
If you are sweating, especially in the hot sun, you will lose water, sodium, potassium and electrolytes, placing more stress on your muscles. You may also suffer heat exhaustion. Hydrate throughout intense exercise, using a sports drink to replenish nutrients if you are sweating profusely. Lower your body temperature with chilled liquids. Start drinking hours before your workout, and drink during your workout even before you are thirsty if you will be working for long periods. Monitor your perspiration--if you stop sweating, or if your skin feels cold and clammy, you may have heat stroke.
References
- Better Health Channel: Exercise Safety
- MayoClinic.com: Aerobic Exercise: How to Warm Up and Cool Down
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Extreme Heat: A Prevention Guide to Promote Personal Health and Safety
- SixWise: The Seven Most Dangerous Common Weight-Lifting Exercises and How to Do Them Properly
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