Alright, alright, this title is a bit sensationalist but, now I’m sure to have your attention and I hope you will read on !

It’s a given, we all need to move, more than some might like to think. A few steps, the notorious 10,000 being a minimum! Regularly engaging all our muscle groups is a must.

However, every now and again, we get over enthusiastic, hop on all the machines at the gym, sign up for every class and end up hurting ourselves as a result!

So, here are 3 signs that your exercise regime is hurting you BUT, what is more IMPORTANT, here is also how to adjust the routine and continue working out intelligently to achieve your dream figure :).

1. Feet getting numb and heavy on the cross trainer : a rather common issue among “gymmers”, as I like to call them, who step on the machine and get absorbed by a show, a movie or a captivating book.

As they are reading or watching something to kill time, they forget what they are actually doing and lose the connection to their body and the action it is involved in. The form is lost, the feet are kept completely flat on the pedals, this affects the blood circulation and the feet go numb and heavy as a result.

? Solution : be mindful of your stride and improve the form by lifting the heels at every rotation just as if you were walking. This will pump your blood up your leg and improve circulation in the feet whereby preventing them from “going to sleep”.

Another solution (which I use) is to alternate 10 minutes cross trainer with 10 minutes resistance training over a period of 90 minutes.

  2. Muscular spasm : not long ago a BootCamper mentioned having suffered strong abdominal muscle spasms during a Pilates session. After a little investigation, I discovered that he had been doing 500 abdominal crunches + 5 X 1 mn plank every day for the entire week prior to the session without a single day’s rest. The Pilates session obviously engaging his abs was the straw to the camel’s back. His body wasn’t responding from muscle exhaustion.

? Solution : if you work a muscle group “to failure”, it will need 72 hours to recover. During that time you can target other muscle groups, but not that one. Even when you work muscle groups without going “to failure” you still need to factor in a rest day every 4 days.

3. Side stitches : these cramps are caused by several factors but they are mainly a result of beginning a running session too quickly and/or not breathing correctly (ie. shallow breathing which is when we aren’t using the lower part of our lungs).

These apparently innocent cramps can be serious over the long term: micro bowel lesions which can affect our digestive system over time.

? Solution : start your run with a 5 to 10 minute warm up by running slowly to open the lungs and establish good thorough breathing.

See, there is a solution to everything.  So, reach for those trainers and set yourself a challenge for today, rise to it and win against yourself!