Injuries and Exercise Problems

What Exercise Reveals About Your Health

Your heart’s beating fast, your lungs are working at full capacity, and your muscles and joints are in full swing—take advantage of your workout by evaluating anything that feels off
By Hollis Templeton fitbie
 

Examine Your Exercise Routine

What Exercise Reveals About Your Health // exhausted female at the gym © Thinkstock

Image: Thinkstock

Exercise is healthy in more ways than one. Regular sweat sessions can keep you slim and your immune system strong, but your workout can also be used as a screening tool for medical conditions that may not make an appearance while you’re sitting still.

“As an internist, I often see people who are tired or short of breath, and nothing shows on initial evaluation,” says Fred Ralston, Jr., MD, president of the American College of Physicians. “I often say that that person should gradually begin exercise. If fatigue or shortness of breath worsens, then it may be a sign of something more significant and I will pursue evaluation for heart or lung issues, like coronary artery disease or asthma.”

But you don’t necessarily need to make a beeline for the ER next time you’re huffing and puffing your way through a step class. As much as they can signal a serious medical condition, symptoms like dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath during exercise are also signs of dehydration or overexertion, or even the result of eating too many refined carbs preworkout.

Experts say the key to distinguishing between the serious and the short-lived is knowing your baseline. “If you know how your body typically responds to exercise, anything that is out of the norm should be a red flag,” says Alice Burron, a spokesperson for the national American Council on Exercise and author of Four Weeks to Fabulous. “And what’s normal for one person isn’t normal for another.” Here, experts weigh in on what to look for when it feels like your workout is working against you.

Follow this advice and never get sick again.

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