4. You ignore your body’s signals.

Your body talks to you. Listen to it. If something feels wrong, that’s your body’s way of sending a message about a specific problem. Don’t try to be a hero. It’s better to cut short a workout and correct the problem than to ignore the issue and sustain long-term damage.

“During the activity, understand if your body is telling you something,” Friedman said. “If your ankle is hurting you, or if your back is hurting you, or if you have chest pain, abnormal breathing, light-headedness, dizziness, don’t ignore those symptoms as you’re going through it. If it’s concerning to you and it’s something you notice that is different, that’s something you want to talk to somebody about. Because pushing through those things is something that is going to cause further problems and further injuries.

“I think a lot of us understand the difference between soreness and pain. If you’re out there running and you feel good, but then afterward or the next morning, you feel some soreness, that’s one thing. If you’re experiencing that pain or that soreness while you’re working out, or it’s inhibiting you from getting to the levels you’re used to, that may be a sign that something is going on. You should dial it back and/or talk to your physician and get some opinions.”

5. You don’t stay hydrated.

Your body is mostly water. This is a roundabout way of telling you that it’s important to drink water whenever you’re taking part in weekend-warrior activities.

Water regulates your body temperature and moves nutrients through your body. Athletes who are dehydrated may experience fatigue, muscle cramps, dizziness or more serious health problems.

“Hydration is really important,” Lemos said. “I think some people get overly into the fluid replacement drinks like Gatorade or Powerade. For most of the activities we do, you don’t really need to replace those nutrients. You need to replace water. So, straight water is good for most activities unless you’re a marathon runner or you’re playing a two-hour soccer match or something of that nature.

“Our metabolism and our physiology changes. As we get older, our tissues do dry out, so hydration is probably even more important than warming up.”

6. You eat junk food during the week.

If you want to have a good workout Saturday, it’s important to eat right Monday through Friday. The habits you form during the workweek will affect your experience during the weekend.

“It’s absolutely all connected,” Friedman said. “The key is not to change too many things at once. If you’re somebody that is eating a lot of fast food, eating at restaurants all the time, to say you’re going to go from that to being completely vegan is probably not realistic. I think the changes have to be gradual. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but for a lot of people, it’s easier to make several changes over time, as opposed to making eight or nine changes all at once.

“Maybe pick one meal out of the week where you’re having fast food instead of every single meal at lunch, and try to incorporate healthy foods into your diet. That will make you feel better and do better on the weekend, and chances are that you may actually incorporate some of those changes during the weekend into the week. You’ll say, ‘Wow, I feel really good on the weekend when I work out, when I eat right – let me try this on Wednesday.’ Then, slowly incorporate those other days during the week as opposed to trying to do the huge lifestyle change all at once. That is a lot harder to do because you have placed a much larger obstacle in front of yourself.”

But ...

Keep going. You have the right idea. Sure, you might be making a few common mistakes that need to be corrected. But you’re doing something, and that’s the important thing.

No matter how often you exercise, or which sport you prefer, you are doing yourself a favor by being active. Just remember to take precautions.

“It’s definitely good to be a weekend warrior, absolutely,” Friedman said. “Find an activity that you really enjoy, whether it’s cycling, running, hockey – no matter what it is, some type of aerobic activity is always good for most people. It’s good to do it on the weekends. It would be even better if we could do it sometime during the week, too.”

Lemos agreed.

“Executive athletes, weekend warriors – they’re all sort of the same term,” Lemos said. “I think it’s better to be one. Being active is important. It’s just being smart about it.”