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There’s a lot of talk about the dangers of taking too many NSAIDs. NSAIDs—nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs—include a long list of drugs, but the best known are probably aspirin, ibuprofen, celecoxib, naproxen and oxaprozin, although there are several more. While the link to stomach problems and Reyes syndrome has been quite publicized, there are other conditions that they can exacerbate. Increased risk of heart failure and increased risk of renal failure are two reasons to limit the use of these drugs and the potential for an allergic reaction is the third.

If you’re in pain, you want something to take it away, quickly.

People who suffer from chronic pain face the most risk. Arthritis victims are often facing severe daily pain, as well as those who suffer from other chronic conditions. Anyone who pushes themselves in the gym on a daily basis often knows that sometimes that extra weight lifted or push to do more comes with consequences. If you have float therapy or cryotherapy available in your area, these are two natural ways to relieve pain without ingesting any drug.

Try these herbs that have anti-inflammatory properties.

Ginger, turmeric and Valerian root are three herbal alternatives that can help pain. You can use all three to make tea to help soothe pain. Turmeric comes in capsule form or you can create a paste and apply it to the area affected. Be aware that it turns the area a vivid yellow. One study shows that while NSAIDs do stop inflammation, ginger not only does the same, but also provides antioxidants that breaks up the inflammation already existing and neutralizes the acidity of the fluid in arthritic joints. These natural anti-inflammatories also come with other benefits and have no side effects.

Create your own pain relief cream from chili peppers.

Once when a member of my family was in dire need of some muscle pain relief and the stores were closed, I rumaged through my cupboards to see what I had available. Luckily, it was summer and we had loads of super hot peppers in the garden. I mixed turmeric, some ginger, coconut oil and whole hot peppers—minus stem—in the blender and applied it to the area that hurt. It worked, but it did stain everything a blissful yellow. Since then, I’ve found online recipes that will keep for weeks and are far better. It’s a cheaper alternative to capsaicin cream, which also works for muscle strains and arthritis.

• Soak in Epsom salt. The magnesium in Epsom salt enters the body transdermally—through the skin. It helps reduce muscle spasms, the pain of migraines and fibromyalgia. Eating sunflower and pumpkin seeds also increases magnesium levels.
• White willow bark was the first aspirin. The bark contains a substance called salicin that changes to salicylic acid in the stomach. Basically, that’s what aspirin is. However, synthetically produced, as in aspirin, it can cause stomach upset. The natural alternative—white willow bark doesn’t and still provides relief.
• Stress can cause pain and tension. A cup of chamomile tea can help.
• A massage is also relaxing and can help with deep muscle tension and pain.

I always say that anytime you can exercise is a good time, there are still some exceptions to the rule. Sometimes, people live a sedentary life five days a week and then become the GI Joe of the gym on the weekends. If you find your weekly schedule too crowded for exercise and spend your weekend focused on getting healthier and fitter, you need to be aware of the dangers of being a gym weekend warrior. Exercising is important, no matter when you do it, but you must watch out for these pitfalls.

There are studies that show weekend warriors get health benefits from getting all the exercise necessary in one or two days.

One study published in JAMA Internal Medicine used information surveyed from 63,591 adults. The survey showed that exercise lowered the risk of death approximately 30 percent, regardless of whether the exercise was done in one or two sessions a week or spread out throughout the week. The one or two sessions had to equal the same amount of time spent in five or more sessions to get the same results. The amount of time spent in vigorous activity should be approximately 75 minutes or 150 minutes of moderate activity.

Your risk of heart disease is lowered no matter what way you exercise, but there are other risks.

Even though you get the heart healthy benefits when you’re a weekend gym warrior, you face other risks. The risk of injury grows when you push too hard on just one or two days. People who just exercise on the weekend often push hard or enjoy sports on the weekend, rather than just spend two and a half hours walking. That vigorous exercise can cause musculoskeletal injuries due to overuse. Exercising on a regular basis throughout the week tends to reduce the likelihood of fractures and strains. Too vigorous of a workout can trigger rhabdomyolysis, which can lead to serious complications.

Ease into your workout by preparing your body for the high intensity.

One reasons weekend warriors often suffer from injuries is that their muscles aren’t ready for the sudden jolt. You also have to be aware of the the potential for dehydration, keeping sports drinks and water close at hand, particularly on hot days. You can prepare you body by focusing on a pre and post workout stretching, plus adequate hydration. Adequate warm-up and cool down are of prime importance particularly if you are sedentary throughout the week. Work with a personal trainer to create a list of stretches you can do the first thing in the morning or later in the day to boost your flexibility and help prevent strains It doesn’t take much activity throughout the week to lower the risk of injury. Devoting just ten minutes each day to stretching exercises lowers the risk dramatically.

If your schedule is so demanding that weekends are the only possible answer, start slowly and gradually ease into an intense workout. Run a few laps and do stretches before playing ball with friends. It can help prevent damage that will keep you out of the game for a long time.

To get the maximum benefit from your workout, especially if it’s only one or two days a week, consider adding High Intensity Interval Training—HIIT—to your workout program. You’ll get maximum benefit in the shortest amount of time.

For those inactive during the week and switch up to high activity on weekends. Be aware of the symptoms of rhabdomyolysis and/or dehydration. Avoid training in extremely hot weather. Rhabdomyolysis can be extremely dangerous and even life threatening.

If you’ve ever worked out with kettlebells, you probably already know that one of the benefits from working out with kettlebells is a total body workout. It also helps improve fitness in all areas, strength, endurance, flexibility and balance. It’s the perfect functional fitness workout that can get results in a far shorter period of time.

Kettlebell workouts are fun, but still provide serious conditioning.

Yes, you do have to learn how to use the kettlebells properly or you’ll end up smashing yourself or pulling a muscle. However, once you have down the form and several of the moves, you’ll find it’s a great way to get a cardio workout without the boredom that often comes with the treadmill. When your workout is more fun, you’ll be more apt to go and not even consider skipping it.

Kettlebell workouts burns fat fast!

While cross country skiing uphill may be a top fat burner, it’s not always easy to find snow in Texas, nor desirable to cross country ski uphill. However, you’ll burn almost as many calories with a kettlebell workout can burn as many calories and is far more accessible than fast uphill cross country skiing. It burns approximately 400 calories in just 20 minutes, which is as much as running a six minute mile! That is huge for weight loss. It also builds muscle tissue that also helps boost your metabolism to take off weight fast.

Kettlebell training is great for busy people.

Since kettlebell training is a total body workout that addresses all types of fitness, in just 20 minutes you could get the same amount of exercise as you would in an hour using other techniques. It doesn’t require a large area, so you can use just a 6′ X 6′ area in a room in your home for a workout. That can cut down on time going to the gym. You can keep a kettlebell at work if you have enough space and train a few minutes at a time.

• Kettlebells are easy to store and don’t take a lot of room. You can also travel with kettlebells, unlike many other types of equipment.
• A kettlebell workout is safe, as long as you have guidance when first using them and choose the appropriate weight. People of all ages can use kettlebells.
• Kettlebells strengthen the core muscles and because of their off center distribution of weight, workout the stabilizer muscles. You’ll get a wider range of motion with kettlebells.
• You’ll improve functional fitness with kettlebells. While they do build muscle tissue, women don’t get big bulky muscles, but lean svelte, sexy ones.

Unusual but amazing workouts can renew your interest in working out and help you get into shape while having a blast. Imagine walking your dog, while cross country skiing at the same time. It’s called Skijoring and there’s even races. While the dog does some of the work, having a harness and straps to pull you, it’s still a great workout and can be fun for both you and Rover. Dogs need exercise, too and it’s a great bonding experience. In the summer, you can do doga, which is doing yoga with the dog.

Love karaoke, but also want exercise?

Try this new version of spin class, called Karaoke spin. It’s also known as cycle karaoke. When you’re singing while you spin, it helps breathing techniques and gives your lungs more of a workout. If you can’t easily sing while you’re pedaling, you’re not pedaling hard enough. It reminded me of a client who thoroughly enjoyed giving her kids a zinger. She used to ride bike with them and when she felt it was right, sang at the top of her lungs while pedaling. Needless to say, she had to pedal pretty hard to keep up with her kids who were fleeing her in embarrassment.

Jukari Fit to Fly is made for the adventurous.

If you loved the jungle gym and trapeze as a kid, you’ll love Jukari Fit to Fly. This workout uses a trapeze-like apparatus that helps you tone your body. It lets you swing, fly, spin and jump while you’re feeling like the top performer at a Vegas Cirque du Soleil review, except you’re far closer to the ground. In fact, it was created by collaboration between Cirque du Soleil and Reebok, so it should feel authentic.

If you are a fan of Bollywod movies, Doonya may be for you.

If the dance moves of Slum Dog Millionaire made you smile, imagine how great you feel when you do them on your own. This high energy workout will help you building strength and flexibility, while building your cardio. It offers the unique sounds and movements that sets it apart from other dance exercise classes.

• If you’ve ever watched your hamster in an exercise ball, you’ll appreciate what it must be like when you try water walking. Some deem this mode of exercise dangerous, particularly if you have an untrained operator, so do your homework before you decide to try it and only work with the best.
• Try Capoeira, an artform from Brazil that uses dance movement, combat moves and special music to improve agility, flexibility, strength and speed.
• Try Krav Maga, an Israeli hand-to-hand combat technique that uses instinctive reactions for self-defense.
• Take a pole dancing class, but if you’re not that adventurous, try polga. Polga combines yoga with pole dancing to provide benefits in all areas of fitness; strength, flexibility, balance and endurance.

Are you sabotaging your calorie counting by subtracting the calories burned by exercise? Is calorie counting actually ruining your attempt to lose weight? There’s so many ways to fail to lose weight, you might think you need a big elaborate plan that must be followed to the letter, but in reality, the simpler you make it, the better off you’ll be. That’s why many people find that learning to eat smarter, not counting calories is the best method of weight loss.

If you choose to count calories, watch out for this pitfall.

Too often people become obsessed with calorie counting and not only restrict their caloric intake, also subtract the calories they’ve burned. That becomes a slippery slope as it gets even more detailed when they start associating specific movements, like running up and down the stairs a specific number of times, so they can consume their favorite treat. To make matters worse, there are levels of intensity for various exercises…and anyone that’s hungry for a sweet treat naturally chooses the highest intensity level, regardless of whether or not they’ve achieved it. It can make the difference between weight gain and loss.

Counting calories leaves you feeling deprived.

At the end of the day, everything was about food. What you could eat, what you couldn’t and how many calories you have left for dinner. People who diet often go to bed hungry. Some studies show that it even can cause changes that lower your metabolism, leaves you hungrier by making hormonal changes that tell the brain you’re hungrier and even place a higher mental focus and excitement on eating. It becomes the reward for all situations, the soother of all bad moods.

Eating healthy stops all the pitfalls.

Sure, you can’t down a whole pecan pie when you’re eating healthy and expect to shed a single pound, but that shouldn’t stop you from eating a little on special occasions. You never have to feel hungry, because there’s so many filling foods that are also delicious. You even plan to eat snacks when you eat healthy. Eating healthy means making smarter choices that are minor. It might mean eating brown rice instead of white or substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream.

• Don’t make too many drastic changes at once. You’ll never stick with a weight loss program if you start out exercising for hours and restricting your food intake drastically. Start making changes, but don’t go overdo it to a point that it’s not sustainable.
• Stick with smart eating. Don’t try to lose weight with the latest, “greatest” diet. Choose healthier foods and make lifestyle changes that last forever.
• Weight loss and a healthy lifestyle isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Too many people sabotage themselves by cutting their calorie intake too low. It’s not sustainable over the long haul.
• When combining healthy eating with exercise, get the help of a professional to find the best foods to eat. For instance, if you’re training for a marathon, a low carbohydrate diet simply won’t do.