Lifestyle

Wellness

Do You Have Fitness Issues?

by Michele Batz
Are you a person that starts to exercise only to be stopped short due to stomach aches, sore joints or muscles?

Increasing your mileage on the roads and lifting heavier weights in the gym challenges your muscles and tendons in new ways. Unfortunately, this can be painful. There are actions that you can take to offset this fitness issue and increase the likelihood of maintaining your workouts.

Experts debate the causes of cramping, some say dehydration from heavy sweating on hot days and loss of electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, are to blame for exercise related cramping. Whatever the reason, take these necessary steps to avoid this unpleasant experience:

  1. Stay fueled. Make sure you drink fluids and consume carbohydrate during workouts lasting 60 minutes or longer. Eating a banana, a handful of dried fruit, an energy bar, or an energy gel and drinking plenty of water during a workout will help delay muscle fatigue.

  2. Build Endurance. Work up to longer efforts by increasing your duration slowly. That will ease your muscles into performing well during longer efforts and help you avoid undue fatigue and possible cramping.

  3. Get loose. Prepare your muscles with passive stretching before exercise, and introduce more stretching throughout your daily fitness routine.

  4. Cut workouts short. If you are plagued with cramps during longer exercise efforts, shorten your workout intensity or duration until you’re cramp-free. Then increase your distance or time slowly.

I hope this will encourage you to get up and get moving! Think simple, think fun and just get up and get going.
Michele lives in the Chicago-land area and enjoys teaching physical education, working out, and writing fitness articles. She is working on completing her masters in holistic nutrition and moving on to get her Ph.D. You can reach her at micheleb@poisemag.com.