Always read the label?

Exercise can be likened to a drug in more ways than one. Many drugs promise better health, so does exercise. Many drugs are addictive, so is exercise.

Exercise junkies thrive on the high experienced after a great workout as hormones known as endorphins flood the system, numbing pain and promoting feelings of security and happiness.

Since there is a flip side to nearly every coin, like most drugs, exercise can however produce a number of unpleasant side effects too. Let’s have a look at some of the more common ones and see how we can ease or eliminate them for a happier and more productive workout.

Stiffness: When we train particularly hard, our muscles usually get stiff the next day. This syndrome is known as Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness (DOMS). There are a number of theories as to what exactly causes DOMS, a phenomenon that can rear its ugly head anything up to 48 hours after cessation of exercise.

When we subject our muscles to repetitive resistance, they sustain a certain amount of damage; damage from which they must recover and subsequently overcompensate for by becoming stronger.

Remedies for DOMS include stretching immediately after your workout, and recovery aids, such as heat treatments and optimum nutrition.

Spend five to 10 minutes stretching your major muscle groups during your cool down and, as studies have confirmed, you can severely reduce DOMS. Ensure you ingest high quality protein after your workout from sources like milk, eggs or lean meat, which will assist the muscle in timely recovery and overcompensation.

You can also stimulate the healing flow of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the muscles in need by using simple heat treatments like a 20-minute hot shower or bath, or a sauna session if you have access to one.

Sweat: Like it or not, working up a sweat comes as part and parcel of many of our workouts. The evaporation of sweat from our skin is one of the ways our bodies shed excess heat to regulate body temperature during physical exertion or hot weather.

There’s nothing wrong with sweat itself, but when combined with poor personal hygiene things can get nasty. There are a number of precautions we can take to minimise the potential unpleasantries associated with exercise-induced sweating.

Clothing manufactured from ‘breathable’ fabrics will allow the natural temperature-regulating mechanisms of your body to function normally. Buy your gym gear from specialised sports stores because if it’s designed for the rigours of competitive sports, then it’s certainly good enough for the rest of us.

Always work out in clean clothes, and wherever possible try to take a shower before and after your workout. Being clean during your workout will ensure your sweat is clean too, since it is excreted through bacteria-free skin pours.

Hunger: While many of us exercise to lose fat, unfortunately the trickiest side-effect of all can sometimes be the increase in appetite experienced following a workout. Studies have shown that different types of exercise stimulate the release of different hormones associated with appetite regulation, therefore affecting our hunger in different ways.

The more resistance training we perform in particular, the hungrier we tend to get. Don’t worry, however, because there are a number of foods we can eat to help combat hunger. Popular appetite suppressants include green tea and anything high in fibre.

Fibre is complex in structure and never gets completely processed by our digestive system, keeping us feeling full in exchange for less calorific value. A high fibre breakfast, followed by extra fruit and vegetables throughout the day, will work wonders in suppressing your appetite. Drinking plenty of water is also a great way to feel fuller and fight those unhealthy food cravings.

Calluses: Calluses are wonderful examples of our body’s masterful ability to adapt to the stresses we inflict upon it. A callus is a patch of particularly hard skin that forms in response to some repeated form of friction or pressure.

The most common types of calluses we see in the gym occur on the hands just beneath the fingers. These tend to form in response to lifting free weights or operating handles on resistance or cardio machines.

The quickest and easiest way to avoid calluses is by wearing a pair of gym gloves. The problem with gym gloves, however, arises on the one fine day you forget them.

Since the skin has not suitably adapted to the friction and pressure inflicted by your workout, you could experience unnecessary pain and discomfort. If you do not wish to be dependent on gym gloves, let your calluses form. However, use a hand cream to keep your skin moisturised.

If the calluses get too big, file them down with a nail file. Big calluses run the risk of becoming ripped off from the skin completely when the softer surrounding skin can no longer support them.

Injuries and overtraining: If we get more exercise than we can handle, then just like an overdose of medication, things start to get a little counter-productive. Injuries can occur when technique is poor or the total amount of training is simply too much to handle.

Always seek professional help if you feel you are unsure of your technique, and ensure the programme you are following does not leave you feeling tired for the rest of the day, and unable to sleep well at night.

If you’re just starting out, aim for two to three times per week and seek professional advice if and when you feel ready to step things up a notch.

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