Everybody’s working for the weekend. (Just ask the band Loverboy.)

When the weekend finally arrives, many workers transition from sedentary creatures to recreational athletes. These people often are referred to as “weekend warriors” – those who participate in a wide range of activities such as running, bicycling, hiking, rock climbing and more.

Make no mistake: Being active is incredibly important for your short- and long-term health. But weekend warriors also face heightened risks of injury, depending on the activity, and many end up visiting emergency departments or doctor offices.

What mistakes can cause problems for weekend warriors? To find the answers, Family Safety & Health interviewed two experts in the field: Dr. Mark Lemos, director of sports medicine at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, MA; and Dr. Eli Friedman, cardiology fellow with a specific interest in sports and athletic cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Below are six mistakes these experts say weekend warriors should avoid:

1. You’re stuck in the glory days.

Look, there’s no easy way to say this: High school is finished. It’s OK to put down the letter jacket and embrace your new reality.

“Generally, the biggest problem is training errors,” Lemos said. “Everyone goes out and remembers what they could do in high school and college, whether it’s playing a competitive sport or doing a specific endurance event. Back then, you generally would train and condition for it – and, just inherently, you were in better shape and condition. Now, you don’t.

“After five days of sitting around, you say, ‘OK, I’m going to go for a 50-mile bike ride. Or I’m going to play five sets of tennis.’ You’re totally out of shape, you’ve done nothing Monday through Friday – and some people do, and those are the ones who do all right, the ones who do some cross-training and some conditioning and some strengthening – but most of the events, you need to build up to.

“Really, it’s just trying to do things that you could do when you were younger, but potentially you can’t do as quickly or as fast. Our minds know what we want to do for the sports that we’ve played in the past, but we aren’t always capable of it as our reaction times go down, our overall body weight goes up and our strength goes down.”

2. You ramp up too fast.

That leads to the next point: Take your time.

Let’s say you sign up for a popular obstacle course-style “mud run” during the fall. Start training during the spring, and make progress in small increments.

“I always tell people that if you increase your activity by about 10 percent per week – and you can measure that by how much weight you’re lifting, by how much time you’re spending in the gym, or running, or biking – you don’t want to go much faster than that,” Lemos said. “We live up in the Northeast, and the Boston Marathon is probably the classic example. People are inside all winter trying to get their mileage in on a treadmill or when there’s a few warm days, but they don’t get nearly to the mileage they need, and then they ramp up too fast and get some sort of overuse injury, which knocks them out of the marathon.

“It’s the same with bicycling. People will train for the Pan-Mass Challenge in the summer, and they might do a little riding over the winter, but we always seem to get behind. … They’ll say, ‘Oh, I’ll just double my mileage this week. I shouldn’t, but I need to get to this number to do the event that I want to do.’”

3. You fail to use the right equipment.

Think about which activity you want to pursue. What equipment will you need to stay safe? Neglecting to wear a helmet in some instances could have fatal consequences. Other activities might require knee pads or shoulder pads or protective gloves. Do your homework. Wear your gear.

Shoes are another important piece of equipment for athletes who spend a lot of time on their feet. Friedman is a member of the Pittsburgh Marathon Medical Board, and he knows full well the injuries that can result from wearing the wrong shoes (or over-wearing the right ones).

“There are certain stores where they will put you on a treadmill, they will analyze your gait, and then they will recommend a shoe to you,” Friedman said. “Let’s say you are running a marathon or you’re going to run a race. Always wear the shoes that you’ve worn. Don’t put on a new pair of shoes the day before you run the race. That’s when you’ll get blisters and you’ll have problems.”

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.”