Simple Exercise Warning Signs That Could Be Something More Serious

Exercise obviously comes with a heap of benefits! You can check out a few of the other blogs I have put up to get more familiar with a few of these! The flip side to this, however, is that there can also be harmful things going on in your body, that you may even not be aware of! Now, a lot of these aren’t too detrimental, and can be easily fixed, but sometimes they are there as a warning sign of something more sinister!

The first of these, which would also seem like a pretty obvious one to most people, is chest pain. Now, chest pain, to a degree is pretty normal while training; your heart rate is up, your lungs are working hard! If there isn’t a degree of pain going on, then you aren’t pushing yourself right? Well, this is that other type of pain, which occurs more as a dull ache. If this happens, and it is out of place, have a rest. If the discomfort continues, then do not commence exercise again for that day. If there is any pain radiating to your arms, neck, jaw, or through to your back, then you need to go to a doctor as soon as you are able to, because this can be a sign that your heart is struggling more than it should, and could even be the early signs of a heart attack.

The second on the list is breathing difficulty. Now, same as with the last one, this can be pretty normal right? Initially, yes, but it should go away within a fairly short amount of time from when you first start training. As with the chest pain, if you start having trouble breathing, have a rest. If the breathing difficulty still persists after a few minutes of resting, then you should definitely get yourself to a doctor, to see what is going on in the lungs!

The third in this list is feeling dizzy! Once again, this can be normal while training, especially if you are training hard! This one also has a few factors that can play into it, such as what type of exercises you are doing, and what you were doing before training (whether you have been drinking enough water or eating enough etc). Again, this one calls for a short rest. If the dizziness doesn’t go away without laying down, then there may be an issue with your blood pressure. A lot of the time this can be fixed by drinking some water, in which case you may just be dehydrated, but if not, the GP should probably be getting a look in from you again!

The fourth, which is the most serious symptom that is often overlooked by people, or just seen as a “oh well its not really bothering me” symptom, is numbness or tingling in either the hands or feet. This is never a good thing to happen, and if it is, you should stop what you are doing straight away and rest. Both of these, especially numbness in the arms (left arm specifically) can be an early warning sign of a heart attack. Now, it could just be that you were holding that specific limb at a funny angle and cutting off circulation, but it is always better to be safe than sorry! Again, have a rest from what you are doing, and if it doesn’t go away, then you NEED to go to a doctor this time.

Most of these are fairly common symptoms that are often overlooked. And even then, most of those times, it is nothing sinister. But as I’ve said a few times, it is always better to be safe than sorry, and resting for a few minutes during any of them will quickly separate the harmless from the serious! Working alongside a Personal Trainer will help to minimize the risk of any of the above warning signs, as they will know when something is going wrong much sooner than you will!