Make sure to ramp up your fitness training from an established baseline to avoid overuse injuries. Photo: bigstockphoto.

Are you overdoing your “get in shape” fitness routine?

It’s one thing to marvel at the Olympic paragons of Gabby Douglas, Missy Franklin, or Usain Bolt. It’s another to dive into a demanding physical regimen as if you’re an athlete when you haven’t been properly trained. But that may very well be happening as countless Americans take on high-intensity fitness programs like CrossFit, Insanity, or boot camps that push them to the brink of, or well past, their capacity.

“In general, people who slowly increase an exerciseprogram don’t run into major injury issues—those who jump right in and do too much have trouble,” says Amy Powell, team physician at the University of Utah, where she teaches in the departments of medicine and orthopedics.”

Read the full story over at US News

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