How to Avoid Injury
November 24, 2008
Injury affects most of us at one time or another and interrupts our workout routine. Here are some tips to help you prevent injury.
• Warm up thoroughly before you step up the intensity in your workout. Do basic stretches, an easy 5 minute jog or a few minutes on a treadmill. At the end of your workout, you need a few minutes to slow down, cool down and relax. It is important not to suddenly stop intensive exercise.
• Take it easy at first – if you are new to working out or have had a break for a while, it is important that you ease into heavy exercise. Don’t push yourself hard too soon. You would be better doing a daily walk for a few days before you get into anything specific.
• Run your own race – it is easy to get competitive in a group situation and attempt to keep up with guys who are fitter, stronger or more experienced. This is a sure way to injury. Workout according to your own plan and don’t be tempted to over-stretch yourself. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t push yourself at times – just be conscious of what you are doing.
• Wear correctly fitting shoes that suit your foot shape and the activity you are doing. Get shoes fitted by a professional at a specialty sports shoe store.
• Run on soft surfaces and avoid impact injuries. Run on grass or dirt paths rather than on the road.
• Strong legs absorb impact better, so work at strengthening your leg muscles with exercises like squats, step-ups and toe-taps.
• Increase intensity, distance, time etc in small increments. Only increase one element at a time and allow several days before increasing that element further.
• Check out the trainer, teacher, club or gym before you join or start a class. Make sure the correct accreditation is in place and safety procedures are followed.
• Learn the correct way to use the equipment at your gym. Ask for assistance before attempting a new machine. Make increases to weight, speed, repeats etc in small steps.
• Muscles, joints and bone need time to recuperate and injuries are more common when intensive sessions are repeated without a break. Alternate your workout sessions to have a heavy day followed by two lighter days of different activity.
• Be realistic! Accept the fact that the 80/20 rule applies to fitness as it does to most of life. For 80% of the time you will eat well, workout and stay on track, but there are times when this just doesn’t happen – holidays, illness, work and family commitments. 20% of the time you will be less than perfect! Welcome to the rest of the world! Relax and accept this as a truth, and you will be relaxed and enjoy working out more.
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