The New Year has always been a perfect transition to making those changes you’ve been talking about (and possibly putting off) all year long. There’s just something about the changing of the calendar that urges us to begin anew with some fresh, healthy habits to look and feel our best. Research has shown that when we feel good, we’re happier, more productive and much more apt to put our best foot forward and strive to reach our goals. The most popular of these New Year’s resolutions to kick our health into gear? Exercise! Getting out and moving around is something most everyone can agree makes them feel good. Whether it’s to lose a couple of extra holiday pounds, build up some lean muscle, train for a sports competition or just boost self-esteem and get endorphins flowing, exercise does it all.
[See: 7 Exercises Trainers Wouldn’t Be Caught Dead Doing.]
So you’ve made the promise to yourself to get up and put your body to work, but now you also have to make sure you protect it. Along with new fitness activity for anyone who hasn’t engaged in it regularly comes a real risk for injury, including fractures, sprains, strains and knee or back pain. Whether you’ve been exercising for years and want to bump up the intensity or you’re brand-new to it, safety is at the top of the priority list. Avoiding injury will enable you to keep moving toward your fitness goals — because the last thing you want to do is end up on the sidelines nursing an injury and pushing pause on all your progress. So, before you go out and jump full-speed into a new work-out regimen, here’s what you need to know to safely stay on track:
Warm up and cool down. Just like you wouldn’t start up a car that’s been parked all winter long and zoom down the driveway before giving it time to warm up, the same goes for your body. We need a few minutes of warm-up time before any physical activity to get the blood flowing, and give the muscles and joints a heads-up that they’re about to be put to work, as cold muscles are much less flexible and much more prone to injury. A five minute warm-up of lower intensity activity is all you need before diving into the real workout. Something like brisk walking, jump roping, jumping jacks, or an elliptical trainer is a perfect transition before picking up the pace. At the end of a cardiovascular warm-up, a few more minutes of muscle stretching is always recommended. Remember the point of stretching is not to force the muscles, but to allow them to move with the weight of your body, slowly and gently. Hold each muscle group in a stretch for about 30 seconds, and always do the stretching after the warm-up, never before. Cooling down is just as important as warming up; it allows your heart rate to slowly come back to a resting rate and makes recovery easier on the body. Stretching again after a cool down will loosen any tight muscles and increase flexibility, which will help for the next workout.
[See: 5 Ways to Make Any Bodyweight Exercise Crazy Challenging.]
Have a consistent workout plan. Have you ever heard the phrase “consistency is key?” Well, this definitely rings true for physical activity, too. It’s much more beneficial to your body to exercise for 30 minutes daily than to cram it all in over the weekend. I completely understand that life gets busy, and sometimes the weekends are the best (and only) free time we have to get a solid workout in. But don’t forget that simple things like walking the dog, raking leaves or taking the stairs instead of the elevator all count as exercise. If you just don’t have the time for 30 minutes all together, break it up into two 15 minute sets a day. Getting some sort of daily exercise is healthier on your body than pulling a “weekend warrior” reduces the risk of injury and will make it possible to actually improve your fitness level as you build it up more every day.
Vary your exercises. Injuries caused by overuse are among the most common related to exercise. Repetitive motion over time can wear down and stress the muscles and joints, and make them more prone to injury. Avoiding this is easy: Simply vary your workouts. Instead of doing the exact same exercise three or four days in a row, switch it up and alternate with something different for one or two of the days. This engages a new set of muscles and gives the ones you just worked a chance to rest. Incorporate cardiovascular, weight training and flexibility exercises — doing this will not only make sure every part of your body is getting stronger, but will also keep you from getting bored with the same pattern every day. If there’s one thing people say deters them from working out, its boredom. Have different exercises on hand to keep workouts exciting and to minimize injury risk at the same time.
Whether you’re new to exercise or not, please remember that pain is not always gain. Yes there may be some level of difficulty as you build up your stamina and strength, but pain is never a good thing, and you can get fit without pushing yourself to the point of hurting. If you do feel pain, it may be an injury, so the best bet is to stop exercising, take the rest of the day off and revisit how you feel the following day.
[See: 7 Exercises Men Should Do Every Day.]
It’s easy to get excited when beginning a new workout program, especially as we start to look and feel better — but starting slowly, increasing your workouts gradually (even if you feel confident you can handle it) and following these easy tips will help you crush that New Year’s resolution and get fit while remaining injury-free.
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This Year, Vow to Exercise More Safely originally appeared on usnews.com
