Pain, but no gain: the dangers of one-off workouts

Making exercise a regular habit is more important than giving it your all during a random trip to the gym. If the reason that you’re working out in fits and starts is that you often feel that you can’t spare the time to travel to the gym, work out, then shower, try sticking to a lower maintenance activity like brisk walking that you can do almost anywhere without even changing clothes.

It’s tempting for new exercisers to make up for lost time by giving 110% on their first exercise session. But it’s crucial to take it easy. ‘Start off small, but think big,’ says Dr Almond. ‘Make sure you warm up and cool down. You shouldn’t feel any discomfort. If your workout is too intense, you’ll not only get put off, your muscles will be sore and achy because you haven’t given your body time to adapt.’ He suggests starting with a 10-minute walk a couple of times a week, then gradually increasing the length or frequency of your workout until your body gets accustomed to it. Dr Almond recommends starting at 15 minutes, moving up to 20 minutes and finally working your way up to 40 minutes of exercise three times a week.

What if you prefer gentler exercises such as yoga but find yourself going to class only once a month? ‘If you haven’t been to a yoga or Pilates class for a while, it’s best to stick to a beginner’s class and not push yourself too far,’ says yoga therapist, Liz Taylor, from The Yoga Therapy Centre at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. ‘Like any exercise, it takes time to retrain your muscles and loosen the joints. If you push yourself too far, too soon, warns Taylor, you’re in danger of pulling a muscle because your body’s not supple enough to handle the moves. Most yoga classes incorporate the warm-up into the session, but if your class is held in a cold hall or you feel the warm-up is inadequate, she suggests going for a brisk walk on the way to prepare your muscles.

‘We have so many daily habits that are bad for our body – sitting in office chairs, stuck in cars, or slouching on sofas – that being active once a fortnight or once a month isn’t enough to counteract the harm we do every day,’ she says. ‘That’s why frequent exercise is important.’ She adds, however, that even people who go to yoga once a week do see improvements.

Whatever your choice of exercise, remember it isn’t what you do but the way you do it and how often you do it that counts.