Young people in their 20s and 30s generally have strong joints. However, if you don’t take care of your joints just because you are young, you will regret it later in life. In particular, if you overexert yourself while exercising, your joints will wear down, and as you age, the repeated aging and degeneration can lead to arthritis. This kind of joint damage may be caused by incorrect exercise habits that you are unaware of. Let’s take a look at the bad exercise habits that ruin your joints.
◆ Exercising excessively while overweight
During running, the knee joints support several times your body weight. When at a normal weight, our body can handle this weight, but being overweight or obese increases the risk of osteoarthritis. In other words, weight gain means tremendous stress on the joints. According to related research, overweight individuals are 40% more likely to undergo knee joint surgery than those at a normal weight. To maintain healthy joints, you must first lose weight to get out of the overweight category.
◆ Skipping stretching because it’s a hassle
A balance of strength and flexibility is beneficial for joint health. This is why you need to pay attention to developing flexibility as you age. As you get older, your body becomes stiffer, and the range of motion in your joints decreases, making flexibility exercises essential. To achieve this, it’s good to stretch regularly whenever you have time.
◆ Only doing cardio without strength training
Many patients who visit the hospital for joint issues often have excellent cardiovascular health. This is because they focus only on exercises like running, leading to an imbalance between aerobic and strength training. If this condition persists, arthritis can develop and become chronic. You should alternate between cardiovascular and strength training to keep your cardiovascular system, joints, and muscles strong.
Additionally, in aerobic exercise, you should alternate between sprinting and long, slow jogging. This is because different muscle groups are used depending on the running style. After sprinting, allow your muscles to recover by alternating with slow jogging for 1 to 2 days, and change your running style accordingly.
◆ Overdoing yoga to the point of pain
Not only high-intensity interval training or vigorous aerobic exercises cause joint damage. Yoga and Pilates are exercises that help build strength and flexibility, but taking on excessive poses beyond your capacity can actually lead to joint damage. Excessive yoga poses can lead to abnormal growth of bone tissue, resulting in bone spurs that can cause arthritis, so caution is needed.
