We all want to get the most out of the time we spend
exercising, and it's natural to think that exercising harder is going to
provide a bigger, faster payoff. But exercising harder without adequate
preparation often leads to injury. Then there's recovery time, possibly the
need for rehabilitation, and ultimately you're back at the beginning in terms
of fitness, strength, and endurance. Injuries are to be avoided, if at all
possible. The best way to avoid injury is to exercise smarter. Exercising
smarter is also the best way to achieve continual, progressive gains in
fitness, health, and well-being.
Exercising smarter means doing what you're capable of doing,
and then doing a little bit more. For example, if you're a runner and typically
run three miles a day, three times a week, it wouldn't be smart to do an
eight-mile run the next time you go out. The likely outcome would be a strained
muscle, shin splints, or worse. If you lift weights and typically bench press
100 pounds, it wouldn't be smart to find out what it feels like to bench press
150 pounds. What it could feel like is a back, neck, or shoulder injury. In
either scenario, the price paid for attempting to train "harder" is
at least two weeks of down time, possibly much longer, while you recover from
your injury. Of course, we've all made mistakes and sometimes training injuries
just happen, but tempting fate by doing too much is not, in fact,
"smart."
The goal with any type of exercise is to progress gradually
over time.1 For example, if you're 60 years old and haven't exercised for many
years, a walking program is a good way to begin. On your first day, walk at a
comfortable, steady pace for 10 minutes. That may not feel like much, but you
will be increasing your total time over the next four to six weeks. The next
day, add a couple of minutes. As long as you're continuing to feel good, add a
couple of minutes on every second day or so, building up consistently to a
total of 30 minutes per day. At this point, you're walking 30 minutes per day,
five times per week. Next, every second day or so, increase your pace by a bit.
Don't increase your pace if you feel uncomfortable or feel
as if you're working too hard. Be in tune with what you're doing. After four to
six weeks of gradually increasing your pace, you'll probably be able to walk 30
minutes per day, five days a week, at a nice brisk pace.2 You may also notice
that you've lost some weight,3 you feel more flexible, you're standing more
upright, your skin has a nice, healthy glow, and you're sleeping more soundly
and more restfully.
Use the same gradual approach with strength training. Start
with lighter weights, not heavier weights, than you think you can use. With
lighter weights, you can build up your strength over time. With weights that
are too heavy, there's always the danger of incurring an injury that will set
you back and interfere with your training. Exercising smarter leads to
consistent gains in strength, muscle mass, ability to do physical work, and
overall health.
It's natural to want to exercise harder. But exercising
smarter is the way to go for long-term benefit without the danger of
time-wasting injuries. Exercising smarter is the effective way to maximize the
value of our investment in physical fitness.
1Braham R, et al: Can we teach moderate intensity activity?
Adult perception of moderate intensity walking. J Sci Med Sport 15(4):322-326,
2012
2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Vital signs:
walking among adults - United States, 2005 and 2010. MMWR Morbid Mortal Wkly
Rep 61:595-601, 2012
3Exercise training and impaired glucose tolerance in obese
humans. McNeilly AM, et al: J Sports Sci 30(8):725-732, 2012
