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by James A. Peterson, Ph.D., FACSM
10 Common Mistakes Made by Individuals
Who Engage in Aerobic Exercise
ACSM’S HEALTH & FITNESS JOURNAL1
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Rely upon ‘‘muscle burn’’ exercise sufficiently long enough or with your heart and to help make your
as an accurate indicator of injure yourself). exercise efforts orthopaedically safer, you
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exercise intensity. For an Engage in activities that need to warm up before you work out.
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aerobic training effect to occur, place too much stress on Fail to get enough rest. Even
individuals must exercise at or above the lower extremities. Some though you may feel passionate
a specific intensity of exercise (e.g., aerobic activities involve a greater about exercising, you need to
(cut, copy, and distribute to students, clients, patients)
60% to 90% of their maximum heart degree of impact forces on the lower give your body an occasional day off
rate). In reality, your heart’s response body of the exerciser than others. By (or two) from working out to provide
to the demands of exercise is not the same token, some individuals can your body with the opportunity to
related to how much your muscles withstand greater loads on their lower recover from the physical demands
‘‘burn’’ during physical activity. It is extremities than others. As such, it is you have placed upon it.
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more important to focus upon your critical that you select your aerobic Wear weighted items (such
overall perception of effort (rating exercise modality wisely. For example, as vests, wristbands, or ankle
of perceived exertion, or RPE), which if your feet, ankles, or knees are unduly weights) while exercising. In
is closely linked to your training susceptible to excessive force while addition to offering limited training
heart rate. exercising, you should avoid certain benefits, the practice of wearing
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Mistake neuromuscular activities, such as jogging downhill. weighted items while exercising
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difficulty as a meaningful Worry more about the clothes increases your risk of changing
barometer of training on their body than the your exercise mechanics during the
intensity. Some exercise activities footwear on their feet. How activity. Such a change may expose
require a greater degree of motor you look while working out has no your musculoskeletal system to a
skill (including coordination, agility, impact whatsoever on the nonsocial heightened level of undue stress.
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balance, and power) than others. benefits you might otherwise achieve Rely upon aerobic
Even though individuals may find it from your exercise efforts. As a rule, exercise gimmicks
relatively difficult to perform whatever the most important personal wear marketed on television
combination of limb and trunk item of significant consequence while and the Internet. Geared to
movements are involved in a particular exercising is proper footwear. individuals who are wishfully looking
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activity (e.g., exercising on a cross- Lean on the exercise machine for a quick, easy, and painless way
country skiing machine), it does while working out. Many to achieve the innumerable benefits
not necessarily mean that they are individuals compromise the of proper exercise, most of these
achieving the desired training effect. safety and quality of their aerobic items look to good to be true. . .
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Work out at an inappropriate workouts by excessively leaning on and they are.
level of intensity. Getting the the handrails of whatever aerobic
most out of your aerobic exercise equipment device they are using while James A. Peterson, Ph.D., FACSM,
efforts requires that you exercise within exercising (e.g., treadmills, elliptical is a freelance writer and consultant in
a particular training zone. If you fail cross-trainers, or stair climbers). Such sports medicine. From 1990 until 1995,
to work out hard enough, you won’t a practice reduces the overall quality Dr. Peterson was director of sports
achieve the desired training effect. and safety level of the workout. medicine with StairMaster. Until
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On the other hand, if you work out Fail to warm up before that time, he was professor of physical
too hard, you may incur other negative exercising. To diminish the education at the United States Military
consequences (e.g., be unable to likelihood of overdoing things Academy.
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