New year, new you? Not if you get injured!
We see it year after year in a fitness studio. January hits and all of a sudden gyms are full! This year might be a little different in that there are maybe fewer people in the gyms and more people working out at home, but that doesn’t change the onslaught of injuries that will occur in late January, early February. If you are one of many that are just starting a new workout plan or perhaps just ramping up in the new year, here are five tips to avoid injury!
1. VARIETY
I put this one first for a reason! This is the number one cause of injury I see in my clients, because most of them are active, but they all tend to favor one type of exercise. Maybe it’s running, cycling, lifting, or boxing. Regardless, without variety you’re losing out on a component of overall fitness. An ideal program should include training for muscle strength, power, endurance, flexibility, and mobility; as well as recovery. Within each of those categories, you need to make sure you’re hitting all of your muscle groups. Overuse of certain muscle groups and underuse of others will always lead to injury.
2. MORE IS NOT ALWAYS MORE
This if for all of the beginners out there: trust me that you do not need to workout for over an hour seven days each week to get fit! If you are starting from zero, I recommend starting with anywhere from 20-30 minutes at a time. If you want to participate in classes that are 45-60 minutes, that’s great, but maybe don’t set a goal of doing that 5 days in a row your first week. Like anything new, you’ll create consistency if you ease into it. Also, this will prevent getting SO sore and tired that you completely give up. Over time you can increase to whatever you want to do. Also keep in mind soreness is sometimes inevitable BUT it is not a NEED. Some people think their workout wasn’t good enough if they weren’t sore after. Not true. If you get sore from every workout, you need to change something up.
3. WARM-UP
Perhaps the most important, (or I suppose tied with variety) and next month I’ll be devoting an entire blog post to this. You need to warm-up, and getting on a piece of cardio equipment for a few minutes is not enough. An adequate warm-up must include blood flow, mobility, and muscle activation. Without this, you are at risk of injury. This goes for lifting, running, anything! Don’t be afraid to do your own warm-up drills if your class does not include these elements.
4. REST DAYS
Whether you like it or not, your body needs rest days. If you go too hard, working out everyday, you can develop something called “overtraining” which is when your muscles actually get WEAKER because they are basically begging you for rest. Now, depending on what your workout schedule looks like, a rest day is likely not absolute rest, as in sitting on a couch for an entire day watching TV (although I do believe everyone can benefit from a day like that every now and then!). Maybe you do a restorative yoga class or take a leisurely walk with your dog, as long as you’re not going all out.
5. NUTRITION & SLEEP
These two factors can be underappreciated and can contribute to lack of progress with goals whether it be weight loss or building muscle, or both. WHAT you’re eating, regardless of caloric content, is important. You need a balance of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. I will defer any further details to a registered dietician because nutrition is not my specialty.
Getting enough QUALITY sleep is also an important factor when it comes to meeting your fitness and wellness goals. Your body needs the downtime to recover and prepare for the next day, so consistently getting poor sleep may be a reason for plateau and can even contribute to injury.