Most stupid exercise thing you ever did

Went back to the gym after 2 years of not working out due to ruptured discs. Decided to do kettle bell swings and the next day my shoulder blades hurt so bad I was in tears.

AlphaCajun wrote: »

150 single leg body weight calf raises (75 ea leg.. positives, negatives, neutrals). Poor decision.

Use to do 75-100 rep sets (2-3 sets) with low weight on a seated calf raise...walking becomes challenging from DOMS

Okay, when I first started working out a long time ago. I did many stupid things! My two stupidest are (1) I did very heavy weights when I didn't even know how to properly squat so I injured myself very badly. I couldn't even move for like a week and was in excruciating pain from something tearing in my right butt/back. I felt it as soon as I squatted and knew I had done something very stupid. The back pain kept coming back every so often after that. I had been doing squats for a while but I definitely didn't build the foundation of strength before increasing the weights! (2) I did weights pretty much every day using a video fitness series, called The Firm, so I burned myself out and got hurt. I did Tae Bo and regular weights on top of it sometimes and that did not help the situation. It wasn't even clear to me what I did wrong until the past few years. I thought I knew more than I did and I did read some books about the topic but obviously I was pretty clueless. They didn't really explain where to place your hips when you are squatting. I didn't know you are supposed to stick your butt out. You also need to focus on the basics if you have basically no background in sports.

Thankfully, I now know to take it easy and build some strength before going hog wild. I also know to give yourself a break when lifting weights and that you can do it every day if different muscles are focused on. I also got a PT for a session who told me how to do some moves properly. Oh, and you can do weights every day, but that should not last very long, 6 weeks is plenty!

Going for a run same day as giving blood. Was ok till i started to feel light headed towards the end.. Crawled in the front door & up the stairs to hug the loo...

I learned how important safety bars are on power racks years ago when set at the correct height for your squatting. I also learned the front squats are perhaps, the most comfortable exercise to fail on or lose balance.....

elaineamj wrote: »

A few years back, I fell in love with canoeing. I.e. Paddled round a small lake for 30mins or so a few times over a couple of days. Several months later, I got to go again but this canoe place rented in 6hr blocks. To get my money's worth ...I paddled for 3 hours, pretty much without stopping.

I was in tears that night. I didn't know I had so many muscles in my body - and they were all screaming at the same time!

I have quickly forgotten it though...gone for several other 3hr paddles since (without the painful after effects). Canoeing is awesome!

The stupidest though has been to continue through injury. I have been nursing a bum knee since May 2015 and a bum elbow since August 2015. Every time they start to get better, I overdo it again. Sigh.

Me, too. I can never seem to convince myself to rest enough after a strain, etc. I get 80-90% of the way there, and ruin it by going too hard, too early.

I went for a run while on vacation in New Orleans and wandered too far north of the French Quarter, apparently through some really dicey projects, and 3 different people either honked or started screaming at me to get back onto a main road where it was safer. It was daytime too so I wouldn't have thought any area could be THAT bad!

I also tried a piloxing class a couple of months ago that was real dumb, but in a different sense of the word.

I love to hike the trails in state parks and always pick one that is at least moderate or intermediate.

Early last year when we were still building endurance we set out on a trail that connects to another, then another. ... 11 miles total. We didn't have to keep connecting but on the way out we were still ok. Coming back in was a big nope. I'd done a pretty intense (for me as a beginner) leg day the day before. I seriously thought we'd have to alert the park ranger to come get us in his 4wheeler cart the last few miles. We also hadn't fueled ourselves well and didn't have adequate nourishment with us. It was excruciatingly painful to move anything at all for days and days. My daughter is fit and strong and it about broke her too.

We haven't tried it again lol. We don't even go to that side of the park now. There are lovely trails there but mentally we just can't yet. It's our goal to finish it and a couple more miles (of a more difficult trail) that also connects. Some day.

For now, I'll stick to the 6 mile intermediate trail that is a great workout.

quiksylver296 wrote: »

nakedraygun wrote: »

Stupidest thing was probably not exercising, lifting, for 5 years.

Stupidest advice I gave, circa 1994, to my then girlfriend "Woman should only do squats because women are better at that kind of thing." (Thank you bodybuilding mags for teaching me that bit of casual sexism. Jerks.)

Bwahahahaha! How did that go over?

She accepted it, as I did.

But you have to remember it was a different time, some twenty plus years ago. Internet was only available at libraries -- if at all -- and not a lot of content either. BB mags were all we had and that was the prevailing wisdom at that time, as well as not eating fat (because it made you fat) etc.

We have it so much better now with the tremendous internet resources, smart phones, and access to programming just clicks away. Its breathtaking to be in a gym now and see someone not take advantage of it.

nakedraygun wrote: »

quiksylver296 wrote: »

nakedraygun wrote: »

Stupidest thing was probably not exercising, lifting, for 5 years.

Stupidest advice I gave, circa 1994, to my then girlfriend "Woman should only do squats because women are better at that kind of thing." (Thank you bodybuilding mags for teaching me that bit of casual sexism. Jerks.)

Bwahahahaha! How did that go over?

She accepted it, as I did.

But you have to remember it was a different time, some twenty plus years ago. Internet was only available at libraries -- if at all -- and not a lot of content either. BB mags were all we had and that was the prevailing wisdom at that time, as well as not eating fat (because it made you fat) etc.

We have it so much better now with the tremendous internet resources, smart phones, and access to programming just clicks away. Its breathtaking to be in a gym now and see someone not take advantage of it.

I graduated in 1993 and took weightlifting classes in high school. I remember well.

Had a Personal Trainer coworker talk me into finding my one rep max on squats. As I went down into the squat, I lost balance, tipped sideways used my bicep to pull the barbell back into position, tore my bicep brachii tendon and even after 2 years it still hurts when I do isolated bicep curls.

swung a kettlebell into my knee and fainted.

One funny, one a warning, both from circa 2009:

First one: I was on a treadmill and instead of pausing it for a breather, I jumped to the side. When I jumped back on... CRASH! BOOM! Skinned knees, arms, hands... and lots of embarassment, as it was in my parents' basement and they rushed in to see what was the matter and then promptly laughed at me.

Second one: In 2009, my family went down to Disney World to run the marathon weekend. I ran the half marathon, and then spent the next week walking around Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World in....... totally unsupportive but undeniably cute flats, because I wanted to look fashionable. I have definitely learned the hard way that comfort > style in this situation. I ended up with knee pain that I (also stupidly) never took time off to heal until five years later.

During clean and press in a bodypump class.... took the "keep the bar close to your body" advice too seriously and hit myself in the nose with the press. Blood, crying, walked out of class, it was super embarrassing lol. It hurt so bad I couldn't play it off!

When I first started lifting, I was a half-repping machine.