Exercising can be detrimental.

2026 Day 143. #PersonalDays.

The majority of us imagine ourselves working out and trying to get fit. Some of us actually put in the effort. Few of us actually get to a point where we are categorically fit. Less go above and beyond in terms of what they wanted to achieve.

It’s easy to just tell the average person to go to the gym, or start running, and do some kind of workout in general. It’s also easy to get started on most things. Some need you to just have an outfit, others might need a membership, and some need a mentor to get started. The barrier to entry is really low which is why a lot of people feel like they can get started and achieve their goals easily.

The main issue, as a lot of people have understood, is consistency. They have realised that the most difficult part of exercising everyday and staying fit is that you will feel lazy and unwilling at times. Other times things will come up that will prevent you from getting in a good workout. This is a valid idea. Inconsistent exercise is not harmful, but it is not much beneficial either. It is still, better than not exercising at all.

For beginners, I must share a warning that most people fail to consider. The reason for this can be presented with a simple analogy.

Most people start drinking in their teenage years. Some really abuse alcohol and other substances but they do not see any adverse effects on their body. This is because any harm that they are doing to your physical and mental health is not immediately apparent, more so when you are younger, because your body regenerates quickly enough. You only start seeing the adverse effects on your liver, eyesight, kidneys, and mental health when it is a little late. The substances have ruined your organs to the point where they are finding it difficult to carry out their basic functions. Every day that you spent drinking added to this but you were not able to notice.

Similarly when you have just started working out you will gain some muscle. The so called beginner gains will keep you motivated and happy to go along with this idea. I too felt that a few months in the gym is all you needed but unfortunately I was short-sighted and influenced mostly by social media. Fortunately I had friends who set my expectations straight, and guided me towards better results. They basically acted as my coaches/trainers.

It is exactly what I had found by accident that is detrimental about exercise for beginners.

Mental Health.

The idea of what a fit body looks like has been greatly influenced by social media. People on steroids, “training for aesthetics”, and more have helped generate an image that is unfair to have. It would demotivate you before you even start getting fit. Or it might motivate you so much that you feel the need to push harder than required or fall into the trap of PEDs or similar. It is important that all of us have an understanding of what a healthy person looks like and what can they achieve. It is also beneficial to know where the average person stands and where can they get with a little bit of training.

If you are just starting out then you cannot compare yourself to world class athletes unless you are a prodigy.

An example from personal experience:
When I started running I would compare my pace to the pace of world class runners. With a lot of effort I could barely manage a 6'min/km pace. World class runners can manage a pace of < 3'min/km. I felt annoyed and dissatisfied. Instead of developing a plan to get better I just pushed as hard as I could which was detrimental. Eventually I learned a lot about running techniques, training techniques like Zone 2 and interval running, which have greatly improved my pace. I can now run at a 5'min/km pace. This might seem like a minor improvement but over long distances it makes a huge difference.

Set real goals and expectations. Whatever you currently think is the definition of an average strength/fitness/physique, I promise you it is much lower than you are expecting.

Physical Health.

The harm to the physical health are closer to the analogy relating to alcohol abuse I gave earlier.

Every step that you take when you are running, every rep of an exercise in the gym can cause trouble for you for in the long term. Having an extremely high heart rate throughout your run can lead to higher cortisol. These issues will not be immediately apparent but will uncover as you age. Suddenly you will feel that your physique has improved, you have constant pain in your knees, back, and so on. These are an indication that you are doing something wrong. If the pain is more in the general muscles, then you might have overtrained or not stretched enough. Incorporating dynamic and static stretches is also a great way to stay fit.

Incorrect form can lead to injuries in the gym. Correct form but using weights that are simply too heavy can lead to muscle tear, broken bones, and other accidents. Any progress that you think you can cut short through with quick progression will be offset by these injuries.

An all around average physical fitness is much better than being a long distance runner, a body builder, or a power lifter. It can also be harder to achieve because you must focus on multiple things at the same time.

Train appropriately and smartly. Hire a trainer if you can afford to. Learn as much as you can if you can from people online if you cannot. Do not rely on LLMs to guide you. Prefer to watch long form content relevant to you or read the thousands of blogs available on the internet. Every piece of information will give you a small part of the puzzle that is fitness. You will eventually realise the important of each aspect of what being fit means.

Sports are a great way to stay fit both physically and mentally. They are also injury prone. Some of these injuries will heal in the short term, major accidents can take longer. These injuries are harder to prevent than injuries from running or in the gym. This is not to demotivate you from playing a sport but to give you the idea that all injuries are not the same, and all exercises are not equal.

The lesson that I learned was it is best to train with a brain. You cannot brute force your way to success. People have developed programs to get better, scientists have done a lot of research into various areas comparing the results that have influenced how athletes train today. I am sure some of them may be misguided but all of the research cannot be wrong.

When you start exercising and running, please read up on the best forms and ideas to get better. Everything is not about getting your dream physique or goal quicker, sometimes you have to focus on getting there in a sustainable manner that is not too hard on you. Any exercise can be harmful towards natural growth, you must be aware of the risks, and minimise them.

It is also a good practice to set your expectations appropriately. Most of us need to compare ourselves with the average person. If you can do something beyond the baseline, all good, but you do not need to aggressively train to be better at every aspect. Our individual biology, diet, location, etc. can affect our output. The average is not the baseline, but it is the target you should achieve before you try to go above and beyond.

Also consider the timelines of physique changes and development. Transformations can be very quick based on genetics, training intensity, and if you are enhanced or not.

Setting appropriate expectations and working consistently towards them is the way to get fit the safe way.

See you tomorrow.