|
Exercise Safely to Keep Muscle Injury Away |
Working out seems to be a growing trend in today’s society, and the more popular it grows, the healthier people get. Exercise is always good, and can never hurt, as long as it’s done correctly. When people rush into a new exercise routine without consulting their doctor or a personal trainer, (or both!) they can end up being injured by either not doing the exercise properly or because it is the wrong type of workout for their body. Everyone has a different history, and what works for one person may not necessarily work for you. That being said, most exercise moves will work for most people, but make sure you do consult a professional before beginning any new fitness routine.
Muscle injury is the most common type of injury that happens during exercise. People rush into exercising without properly preparing themselves for it, or they rush out of exercise without properly cooling off from the activity they were doing. We have all experienced that awful stiffness and soreness after working out, and sometimes painful, pulled muscles or even worse injuries for some. There are ways to prevent muscle injury during and after exercise, and when you workout the safe way, your body reaps even more benefits from your exercise.
First of all, prepare your body for working out. Make sure you always warm up before exercising, and if you are doing any routine that does not include a warm up, don’t do it! Obviously the person who put it together does not know a lot about fitness safety. A correct warm up will consist of some stretching combines with sight exercise to ease your body into the full workout. Warm ups should last about 5 – 10 minutes.
Second, make sure to drink lots of water during your exercise, and if you are not sure how to do a move, ask for help before attempting it. Listen to your body – it knows which way it can bend and move, and if it is telling you, “listen, I don’t do that!” then listen. That being said, don’t use it as an excuse to get out of doing the harder exercises!
Third, make sure that you get a proper cool down time after your workout. This is even more important than the warm up, although both are pretty essential. Cool down time should be a gradual decrease in intensity, and should also include some hardcore stretching, focusing on the muscles used while working out. Cool downs should last about 10 – 15 minutes. Don’t stop when you get home either – do some stretching after about 30 minute to an hour after your workout. I would recommend doing some light stretching every day as well. This will help improve flexibility which will also prevent muscle injury from happening. Whenever you start a new fitness routine you will still feel a bit sore, especially if you haven’t exercised in a while, but if you follow the warm up and cool down instructions, your muscles will stay safe. Also, stay away from those exercise videos that promise results in 20 minutes a day. They usually try to fit an hour’s worth of exercise into those 20 minutes while forfeiting the warm up and cool down process. This almost always leads to injury.
|
