Staying active is great for your health, but it might not be enough when it comes the the aging process. In fact, if you take the wrong approach to exercising, you can also end up with a premature aging effect.
Reconsider your workout regimen and try to avoid the exercise mistakes that age you. From pushing yourself too hard to making the wrong choices before and after your workout, here are the mistakes that could contribute to the aging process.
1. Exercising Before Going to Bed
Having a demanding workout in the evening is not a good idea. After a difficult series of exercises, your cortisol levels go up. This stress hormone can affect your sleep by disrupting your natural sleep pattern. If you don’t get enough sleep, your immunity will be lower, and you’ll also experience signs of aging like fine lines.
2. Working Out Too Much
If you don’t give your muscles a chance to repair after a difficult workout, you’re making one of the exercise mistakes that age you. Pushing your muscles every day without the proper rest means you’re risking inflammation, which is one of the contributing factors to aging. Keeping your cortisol level up every day with strenuous training will soon show on your face.
3. Ignoring Your Posture
Even if you pay attention to your posture when you’re at the gym, you might still ignore it when you spend time in a chair. If you don’t exercise your back and neck muscles, along with the core ones, you won’t be able to sustain a good posture, and that means more problems with your spine in the long run.
4. Focusing on Just Cardio
While cardio can be useful for staying in shape and losing weight, it’s not great when it comes to aging your body. Ignoring other types of workout and just doing a lot of cardio is an exercise mistakes that age you. Do cardio in moderation, but don’t expect it to keep you young, particularly if you always push yourself to the point of complete exhaustion.
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5. Using Exercise to Fight Stress
Taking out your frustration while you work out might feel good, but it’s not going to be useful in the long run. Instead of pushing your limits while exercising just to fight daily stress, you should consider yoga. By creating a stronger connection in between your mind and your body, you’ll get more fitness benefits and you’ll find a better stress management technique.
6. Avoiding Resistance Training
Strength training is a must, particularly as you’re aging and begin to lose muscle mass at a faster pace. Skipping resistance training is one of the exercise mistakes that age you, because you’re focusing solely on less effective forms of exercise, that can even be damaging when done in excess, like cardio.
7. Working Out on an Empty Stomach
Forcing your body to deliver without the proper fuel is a bad idea, particularly in the morning. Don’t skip breakfast and go straight to a workout, and make sure that you eat an hour before any type of workout later in the day as well. Make sure that you get plenty of carbs before heading to the gym, since they’ll fuel you during your exercise routine.
8. Using Jogging as Your Workout
There are plenty of advantages to running, but you can overdo it, just like most types of cardio you can do at the gym. If you’re jogging like you’re training for a marathon, this type of workout can get tricky for your skin. Even if the elasticity of your skin isn’t affected by running, your joints are still likely to age faster, so making jogging your entire workout plan can end up as one of the exercise mistakes that age you.
9. Fueling Your Workouts with Coffee
Doubling down on caffeine just to finish your workout isn’t a good idea, whether it’s coming from an energy drink or black coffe. Instead, enjoy the anti-aging benefits of green or black tea, that are packed with antioxidants.
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10. Wearing Makeup While Working Out
It’s one of the biggest exercise mistakes that age you, and you’re also risking a breakout when you get a sweat going while you’re wearing makeup. Exercising with a fresh face is a must, just like a good sunscreen when you’re working out outdoors.
