In the United States, more than two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. According to CDC, 36.5% of adults are obese, and 32.5% are overweight. This condition leads to many health issues such as chronic back pain, knee pain, ankle pain, sprain, and strains. Based on my 12 years of practice within the physical therapy field, I realized that these growing numbers are due to these top 3 common fitness errors:
1. Too Much Online Reliance
If you are going to ask people nowadays how they plan to get fit, follow a specific diet, fitness methodology, or technique, they would say, “I will search online” or “download an app.” “Online reliance” is when you search your issues on Google, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. This automatic behavior is common and very dangerous for people with underlying conditions. The reason being, when searching online, there is no medical tests such as:
- physical exams
- blood works
- cardiovascular testing
- rate of perceived exertion scale
- other health screenings
Several individuals follow and fail even the most popular diet or program in the market, sensationalized by influencers or famous people online. We forget that we need a personalized plan for fitness and diet, not a generalized “one-size-fits-all” program or facts online.
2. Weight Loss With No Purpose
Goals like “I want to lose 40 pounds” or “I want to target XX pounds” are too broad, and it’s hard to achieve. In my physical therapy practice, we accomplish our fitness goals through a system I called “SMART-P” goals. It is “Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound with a Purpose.” When you have that purpose in mind of why you want to lose weight, the drastic effect will follow.
An example of an individual’s goal with purpose would be, “I want to lose 10 pounds of my total body weight in 30 days so that my knee will be pain-free, walk my dog again, play with my grandchildren and do the things I love doing.
3. Believing in fake social media fitness experts
Since we spend most of our time on social media and gathering much of our information through technology, we are drawn to influencers with millions of followers, lots of video views, chiseled muscles, perfect form, and the impressive before and after pictures. But did you know that before posting or embarking on their fitness journey, most of them had physical exams, body testing, trainers, and coach? Surprisingly, these influencers fail to reveal this essential information in their social media feeds! Yes, they get support from real health experts
If you follow an influencer that you would like to emulate, I would recommend that you ask them details about their journey, credentials, and how their practice methods are backed by research or medicine. The best would be to invest in a one-on-one fitness coach, have a team of real experts like physicians, dieticians, and physical therapists who know your medical history, and set SMART-P goals with you. Contact today at Skillz Physical Therapy for more information.
