Let’s face it, burpees are painful enough without having to endure a mouthful of hair as you do them. Naturally, a quick ponytail is the answer. But, did you know that you could be causing some serious damage to your hair without even knowing it?

With a 5.3% rise in total fitness and gym memberships last year, people are going to the gym more than ever. Sadly for your folicles this means even more time pulled back into the vice-like grip of a non-slip elastic.

The reality is, consistently tying your hair up in a ponytail can lead to split ends, breakage, even bald spots.

Want to know how to prevent this from happening?

We sat down with Aveda’s Advanced Creative Director, Michael Lendon, to find out exactly why our gym hairstyle is causing so much mayhem and how to stop it from happening in the future.

How can you tell if your hair is breaking because of how you tie it up?

When hair is damaged it’s often because the protein bonds in the hair itself have become broken. This can be due to heat, colour, or – you guessed it – too much friction on the hair from excessive brushing or tying your hair up too tightly.

All of these things weaken your hair strands, which can lead to them breaking off.

You’ll notice this around the hairline with hairs breaking and appearing slightly flyaway. You know those inexplicably short hairs popping up around the crown of your head...?

If you tie your hair up too tight, it will either break at towards the root, where it’s being pulled, or towards the elastic, where it’s at its weakest point.

Is there anything you can do before tying your hair up to help stop this from happening?

A diet rich in Vitamin A, B and E helps keep your hair happy, but as your hair doesn’t absorb vitamins in the same way as your skin does, I would advise treating it with protein-rich products like Aveda Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair with quinoa protein.

The healthier and stronger your hair is, the less likely it is to break, so it’s important to always protect hair from heat styling with a protection spray. You should also invest in regular protein rich treatments, which will help repair any damage and strengthen hair bonds.

One gym hair hack we love is, when you know you'll be washing your hair straight after, apply a hair mask before you twist it back. Let's face it, who has time to leave it in long enough in the evening?

Read on... The Best Gym Hairstyles: Barreclass

Bear Grylls//Digital Spy

What are better hairstyles for the gym than ponytails?

Embrace your hair’s natural texture and use it to create an effortless looking finish. A ‘messy’ take on the classic French twist is a great style and is really easy to pin up and then unpin at the end of your workout to create natural waves.

It also doesn’t require a hair elastic, which is the main culprit for ponytail damage.

Remember, embrace the kirby grip and keep your hair out of your face without the need for a Croydon facelift.

What should you do when you see breakage?

Damaged hair craves protein to replace and repair protein bonds to help the hair to become stronger and healthier once again. It’s important to speak to your Stylist about the best way to reduce further breakage to your hair.

Sadly prevention really is the only cure - once hair is split it has to be cut.

You can reduce heat damage by applying a repair and protect serum (Michael recommends Aveda) to small sections of your hair before twisting it to distribute the product evenly.

Instead of blasting you (and the rest of the gym changing room) with a red hot blow dry, use a Hairdryer Diffuser to dry your hair on a low heat. This speeds up the natural drying process and helps reduce the amount of heat being applied to the hair.

Need another reason to ditch the ponys? Here's what could happen if you leave your hairband on your wrist for too long.