Exercise is the key to good health, but as with anything—even water or vitamins—too much of a good thing can be dangerous. For 41-year-old Gemma Underwood, a Scottish fitness enthusiast and orange belt in karate, her passion for training nearly cost her life. What started as an “intense” martial arts session led her down a frightening path to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with a rare and potentially deadly condition called rhabdomyolysis. Her story is a sobering reminder for gym-goers and athletes everywhere: fitness without balance can be fatal.

It was just another training day in March for Underwood in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Her karate session had been grueling, pushing her physical boundaries, but she felt satisfied—until the next morning. Unable to get out of bed due to severe muscle pain and swelling, she noticed her arms had ballooned, and her muscles were extremely tight. But the most alarming sign was what she saw in the bathroom mirror: her urine had turned a disturbing dark brown, which she described as resembling “Coca-Cola.”

Panicked and confused, Underwood rushed to the emergency room. Medical professionals quickly diagnosed her with rhabdomyolysis, often referred to as “rhabdo,” a serious condition involving the breakdown of muscle tissue that releases toxic proteins—specifically myoglobin—into the bloodstream. If untreated, these proteins can clog the kidneys, leading to kidney failure or even death.

What is Rhabdomyolysis?

Rhabdomyolysis is not commonly discussed in mainstream fitness conversations, but it’s a well-known risk among medical professionals and elite trainers. According to the Cleveland Clinic, rhabdo occurs when skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly due to extreme physical exertion, trauma, or dehydration. As muscle fibers die, they release their contents into the bloodstream, overwhelming the kidneys and potentially causing multi-organ failure.

Symptoms vary and can be deceptively mild in early stages. They typically include:

• Muscle pain, swelling, or tenderness
• Weakness or difficulty moving limbs
• Fatigue or malaise
• Nausea or vomiting
• Significantly reduced urination or dark-colored urine (a major red flag)

In Underwood’s case, the condition escalated quickly—an all-too-common reality when the signs are misunderstood or ignored. Doctors told her the cause was likely inadequate hydration during her intense workout. “I wasn’t hydrated enough,” she admitted. “I should have been drinking more water before.”

Water plays a vital role in preventing rhabdomyolysis. Without enough fluids, the kidneys struggle to flush out myoglobin and other harmful muscle breakdown products. During strenuous exercise, particularly in high-heat environments or lengthy sessions, fluid loss through sweat increases dramatically. If not replenished, the body enters a state of dehydration, magnifying the impact of muscle strain.

Despite being fit and experienced, Underwood made the critical mistake of underestimating her hydration needs—a mistake that nearly proved fatal.

Underwood spent five days in the hospital receiving intravenous fluids and was fitted with a catheter to monitor kidney function. She’s now on a mandatory exercise hiatus for at least three weeks and has made hydration a top priority.

“I’m currently resting, no exercise at all, and drinking plenty of fluids,” she shared. “It was terrifying knowing I could’ve died from something that seemed so routine. Make sure you're hydrated before any workout, no matter how intense it is.”

Her message is clear: no one is immune to the dangers of overtraining. Her story is a cautionary tale not just for elite athletes but for anyone who steps into a gym or takes on a new fitness challenge without adequate preparation.

How to Exercise Smart and Stay Safe?

While rhabdomyolysis is rare, it’s becoming increasingly common among high-intensity workout communities, especially in CrossFit, spin classes, and boot camps where participants are encouraged to push limits. The good news? It’s entirely preventable.

Here’s what every exerciser should remember:

Hydration is non-negotiable: Drink water before, during, and after workouts. Electrolytes help too.

Ease into new routines. Whether you’re new to fitness or returning after a break, increase intensity gradually.

Listen to your body. Pain and fatigue are signals, not challenges to override.

Know the symptoms. Dark urine, severe swelling, and unexplained weakness are not to be ignored.

Rest and recovery matter. Muscles grow and repair when you rest—not when you overtrain.

Spending a dedicated time exercising, whether it is an hour or half, could be difficult for some people. If you live alone, or are a homemaker, most of the time goes by taking care of household chores, commuting to and from work, grocery runs and general day to day errands. This leads many people to worry that that they may not be able to lead a healthy lifestyle, but a new study shows that even small movements can prove to be a great addition to your daily life. The study was published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, and revealed small movements being a great aid to bigger health issues.

Researchers found that people who weren't in the habit of working out saw improvements in their fitness after doing a specific type of exercise for about a month. These improvements included stronger muscles, more stamina to keep going, and better flexibility. This means you don't need to spend hours at the gym to start feeling healthier; even short bursts of activity can make a real difference.

Can Small Movements Make A Big Difference?

The type of exercise the study focused on is called ‘eccentric exercise’- movement emphasizes the part of an exercise where your muscles are lengthening. Think about slowly lowering any weighted object after you lift it and gently going down into a squat. Research has shown that this type of exercise is easier on your body compared to other types of workouts, and it's very effective at helping your muscles grow stronger and bigger. It's a smart way to build muscle without putting too much strain on your body, making it a good option for people who are just starting to exercise.

Even a small amount of this type of movement done regularly can provide noticeable benefits for your fitness. This is encouraging news for people who might feel like they don't have much time or energy to dedicate to exercise. It shows that even short, simple routines can have a real impact on your strength, endurance, and flexibility, making it easier to do everyday activities.

The participants, mostly women, went through a short period to get used to the study before starting a four-week routine of eccentric exercises. Every day, they performed ten repetitions of four easy exercises- chair squats (standing up and sitting down using a chair), chair reclines (leaning back slightly while seated), wall push-ups, and heel drops (raising up onto their toes and slowly lowering their heels).

After the four weeks of daily eccentric exercises, the researchers found some interesting results. While there weren't big changes in things like body composition, resting heart rate, or blood pressure, the participants did show significant improvements in their ability to do sit-ups and push-ups. They also performed better on the three-minute step test, which measures cardiovascular endurance. Additionally, their flexibility improved, and they reported feeling better mentally. This suggests that even a small amount of daily exercise can lead to noticeable and lasting fitness benefits for people who are not regularly active.

Exercises You Can Perform At Home

Chair squats: standing up and sitting down using a chair

Chair reclines: leaning back slightly while seated

Wall push-ups: placing your palms on the wall and pushing against it

Heel drops: raising up onto their toes and slowly lowering their heels

Tips To Help You Get Started With Eccentric Training

If you're interested in trying eccentric training, remember that you don't have to stick to the exact exercises used in the study. Almost any exercise can include an eccentric component. If you're not very active right now, you'll likely still see progress even if you start with low intensity and very short exercise sessions. Experts suggest starting with just five minutes a day and aiming for around ten repetitions of each exercise. This can be a good starting point to see what's possible, and from there, you can gradually increase the intensity or how long you exercise to keep improving your fitness.

One of the biggest indicators of a good workout for people is how much they sweat. The more you sweat, better the workout. Many people love heated workouts, like hot yoga or spin, even when it’s warm outside. Studios make the rooms very hot, sometimes over 100 degrees. they also believe it is a good way of remaining fit and a great evidence of their hard work. While a lot of people believe this, you still must see how it benefits you and whether are any other safety concerns or health risks you may be putting yourself into by doing this.

The Cleveland Clinic explains that working out in the heat can make your blood flow faster and warm up your muscles. This might make you more flexible. You might also burn a few more calories than in a normal workout. Some people feel good after a hot workout, like they do after a sauna. But, just being hot doesn’t mean you’ll get super fit. You still need to work hard and do the exercises correctly. Don't think that only the heat will make you fit.

Are There Any Risks Of Doing Heated Workouts?

Working out when it’s too hot can make it harder to exercise. According to WebMD your body has to work harder to stay cool, so you might not be able to do as much. This can mean you don’t get as much benefit from the workout. Normal workouts in a comfortable room can be just as good, and maybe even better for you. Heated workouts aren’t a magic way to get fit. They can also put a lot of extra stress on your body, so be careful.

When it’s very hot, you can get dehydrated easily. This can lead to problems like heat exhaustion or fainting. Drink a lot of water before, during, and after class. Watch out for signs that you’re getting too hot, like feeling dizzy or sick. If you have any chest, joint, or muscle pain, stop right away. It's important to listen to your body and make sure you are not pushing yourself too hard.

Who Should Avoid Heated Workouts

Some people should not do heated workouts. Older people, pregnant women, and people with heart problems should be careful. These workouts can be dangerous for them. If you have health problems like high blood pressure or asthma, talk to your doctor first. Just because a workout is popular, doesn’t mean it’s safe for you. It's better to be safe than sorry, so ask your doctor.

Whether you’re training for your first 5K or looking to smash a marathon PR, fartlek could be the game-changing workout your running routine is missing. Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play,” this unique running method blends freedom with structure, play with performance, and science with simplicity and it might just be your secret weapon for endurance, speed, and improved cardiovascular health.

Fartlek training was invented during the 1930s by Swedish Olympic trainer Gösta Holmér, who was looking for a method to make his athletes faster and more resilient without the tedium of repetitive exercise. In contrast to regular interval training, in which recovery periods are specifically set, fartlek promotes ongoing movement with changing intensity alternating sprints of speed with slow recovery runs, all without stopping.

This "playful" approach not only wards off boredom but also provides a smooth transition between base running and more formal speed work. It's a method that encourages spontaneity while enjoying serious physiological rewards.

What Exactly Is a Fartlek Run?

Fundamentally, fartlek is a type of unstructured speedwork. In a fartlek session, you vary between harder and easier running, but in contrast to intervals, there are no full rest pauses. You may sprint for one minute, jog for three, run hard to the next tree, then recover until the next lamppost.

You can create your own rules based on either time or distance. For instance:

• 1 minute fast, 3 minutes easy
• Half a mile fast, half a mile recovery jog

Why Fartlek Training Works?

Fartlek is not merely a curiosity of bygone days. It's grounded in exercise physiology that makes sense of its utility for building cardiovascular endurance, lactate threshold, and muscular economy. Since the "recovery" periods are still working hard, your heart rate stays high, putting extra stress on your aerobic system — which is a potent tool in the hands of long-distance runners and recreational joggers alike.

Further, pace variation also enhances the ability of your body to recycle lactate, with an overall energy expenditure. Fartlek training serves to condition your body to excel in conditions experienced in real races, where the pace can constantly change with the terrain, competitors, or wear and tear.

For novices or runners coming back from a break, fartlek provides an easy point of entry to increased-intensity work. With no stopwatch or track required, it eliminates intimidation and lets you tap into your perceived effort. You're not tied to strict measures — you just run by sense.

That flexibility is also what makes fartlek perfect for use in initial stages of a training cycle. It gets the mind and body ready for more organized sessions in advance, without burning them out.

Fartlek vs. Other Speed Workouts

Let's discuss how fartlek is different from tempo runs and interval training:

Tempo runs: Consistent runs at a "comfortably hard" rate — usually around 20–45 seconds slower per mile than your 5K pace. They develop lactate threshold but lack the same variability as fartlek.

Intervals: High-intensity efforts with full recovery or slow recovery (e.g., 8 x 400m with full recovery). They're more structured and performance-oriented than fartlek.

Fartlek: Balances speed and endurance without full rest. Less predictable, more flexible — and sometimes more fun.

Why You Need to Add Fartlek into Your Training?

1. It Mirrors Race-Day Reality

Races are not run at a set pace with prearranged recovery periods as with intervals. Fartlek simulates the unpredictable nature of racing — surges, hills, and tactical fluctuations — making you more resilient.

2. It Educates Self-Regulation

By allowing you to control when to accelerate and decelerate, fartlek training develops body awareness. You'll discover how to monitor effort, deal with fatigue, and adjust pace — essential skills for any distance runner.

3. It's Efficient and Convenient

With hectic lifestyles, sometimes all you can manage is 20–30 minutes. A short fartlek session over lunch or on a nearby trail can bring significant payback in a concise manner.

4. It Keeps Things Fun

Running doesn't have to be all about numbers. Fartlek brings some spontaneity into your routine. Skip the GPS watch, select a scenic route, and let your instincts dictate your pace.

Key Fartlek Workouts to Try

1. Free-Form Fartlek

Select a natural route and perform 10–25 short bursts (15 seconds to 4 minutes) with steady running in between. Use landmarks as your navigation.

2. Bridging Fartlek

Perfect early in a training plan: attempt 10 reps of 30 seconds hard, 90 seconds steady — building over time to 1-minute hard, 1-minute steady.

3. Mixed Paces

Develop endurance with decreasing intervals: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 minutes — increasing the pace as you go, with 90 seconds of slow running in between attempts.

5. Marathon Prep Fartlek

Alternate 3 minutes slower than marathon pace with 3 minutes faster for 60 minutes of a longer 75–90-minute run.

Fartlek training may not receive the same banner headlines as high-tech interval training or boutique studio classes, but its very simplicity is its genius. Supported by decades of practice and current science, this vintage approach continues to pay dividends in stamina, speed, and aerobic fitness while keeping running interesting and enjoyable.