To exercise or to follow a fitness routine is almost always a positive experience. We say “almost” because there can be occasions when something goes wrong, and the most common issue that can arise when people exercise is that they injure themselves. It is “injure themselves” to differentiate from contact sports where an opponent might hurt you.
Returning to scenarios when the injury is self-inflicted, the truth is that most of those injuries could be avoided. Invariably, the reason the injury has occurred is something the individual has forgotten or chosen not to do that would otherwise ensure that they exercise safely.
Avoiding injuries is so important because they can prevent you from exercising correctly, in the best-case scenario, for a few days, and in the worst cases, for several months. All that time you are not exercising, whilst your health may not necessarily be suffering, your overall fitness is declining. So, here are some ways to ensure that you avoid injury when exercising and working out.
Plan Your Session
As with any worthwhile activity, planning your workouts pays dividends and ensures you can achieve your fitness goals. By planning, we mean knowing what time you are due to start so you do not rush, ensuring you have fuelled up by having nourishment and water beforehand, and knowing what your session will consist of. This is far preferable to randomly working out, which can lead to injuries because you are poorly prepared.
Wear The Correct Clothing And Attire
Given the vast array of possible exercises and fitness activities you can partake in, it means your attire should have more thought than simply wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and trainers. Injuries occur when people are exercising due to wearing the wrong dress, such as footwear that is suitable for the gym being worn on a cross-country run. Incidentally, wearing expensive branded sports attire is no guarantee it is the correct attire.
Warm Up Properly
Every sport played, every exercise type, and every fitness workout should start with you warming up as necessary. More injuries are caused by zero or poor warm-ups, including injuries to some of the world’s elite sportspeople, so we mere mortals are most certainly at risk. Stretching, gentle runs, and flexing get your muscles warmed up, has your blood flowing, and your lungs filled with oxygen. You will also benefit from a ‘warm down’ after your workout.
Know Your Limits
Another common reason for someone injuring themselves is their ego. Many a muscle has torn, a tendon snapped, and the body cut or bruised due to someone trying to impress others by pushing beyond the limit of their physical capacity. Whether it is trying to lift a weight they have never lifted before, running faster on a treadmill than their legs can take them or any other attempt to show off, they can all lead to a severe reality check, a serious injury and, no doubt, embarrassment.
Ensure You Are Trained On Specific Fitness Equipment
Whilst plenty of fitness and exercise routines require no equipment, such as jogging and yoga, there are plenty that does. If any of these are the ones you plan to pursue, you must be fully trained on each item of equipment. They might all seem pretty straightforward, but using them without proper training puts yourself, and possibly others nearby, at risk of injury.
