Whether it’s at home or in the gym, injury while exercising is always a risk

People of all ages and skill levels are at risk of injury when working out. Whether or not a person does their workout in a gym or at home, there is a risk that an attempt to improve oneself can turn into the opposite. Tailoring a workout routine to people’s needs and limits can reduce these risks of injury.

“We don’t want to say, go and exercise. We just want to find the thing that’s going to work for you,” says Dr. Matthew Busam, orthopedic surgeon at Mercy Health.

One way to decrease the risk of injury associated with exercise is to slow down, says Tracy Moody Cessna, physical therapist at Mercy Health. Many people do not work out consistently, so when they do, it may cause injury. When starting up a workout again, it is important for a person not to immediately pick up where they left off. When picking back up a workout routine, it is important to start even slower than anticipated to avoid injury.

“Instead of doing back-to-back days or going into a long, heavy workout, start slow with a lower base activity and work your way back up,” says Cessna.

In addition to doing too much too quickly, many people work out with a goal in mind and they usually focus solely on that goal. When starting or picking up a new workout routine, it is important to make sure that the workout is varied in its focus, according to Samantha Huffman, a physical therapist at Mercy Health. Working out only one muscle group while neglecting others can lead to injury and unnecessary pain.

“[I would suggest] making sure you’re getting a little bit of everything in there for people trying to get back into fitness, so it’s not just one thing and you’re overworking that and overusing one area of the body,” says Huffman.

Finally, making sure that your workout is functional is also a great way to avoid injury. A functional workout aims to reduce injury by mimicking actions a person performs in their everyday life. According to Busam, when a person is deciding what to prioritize in a workout, “[Make] sure you do exercises that allow you to do things like get up off the floor or climb stairs or balance on one foot so you can put your shoes on,” he says.

Making sure that a workout is functional is a great way to avoid not only workout-related injury but also injury in everyday life as a person ages. “Compound movements between multiple joints at one time are much healthier than if I’m going to sit here and stare at my bicep and watch it grow,” says Busam.

By starting slow, diversifying exercises and focusing on functional movements, experts say people can build strength and endurance without putting themselves at unnecessary risk. The

goal, they add, isn’t just to work out harder, but to work out smarter—creating a routine that supports both fitness goals and long-term health.