Before you get too excited, this isn’t an article telling you to stay on the couch and watch TV for fear of the dangers and injuries you can encounter exercising.
Unfortunately, it’s a different type of article with easy tips for you to follow to prevent injuries from occurring while you are exercising. Which means you still need to get off the couch and exercise!
Warm Up!
It doesn’t matter if you are just walking around the block a few times or you are going to the gym to lift weights, you should always stretch your whole body before you do.
The reason for this is to release any tension in your muscles which has accumulated throughout your day of sitting on the couch or on a chair in front of your work computer screen.
Why the Rush?
Here’s what happens when somebody who does no exercise feels inspired to improve their health and fitness; They get home from work, strap on their sneakers and they run around the block until they can’t stand up.
Granted, they often feel quite accomplished as they collapse on the couch in a sweaty mess. It’s the next day which really takes the toll.
Thanks to our friend (or enemy) lactic acid, your muscles can become tight and sore which the lactic acid surrounding them does its work to help your body repair and improve.
Of course, we all know what happens next. It takes a few days for the recovery to occur, and by that stage, you have lost complete interest in reaching your fitness goals or improving your health.
Instead, take it easy! If you just walk around the block once or twice after dinner for the few times, then be proud of your efforts. Improving your health and fitness isn’t about being completely healthy and remarkably fit, it’s about making changes to improve your current level of fitness. With that in mind, be sure to take it easy.
Wear the Right Clothes
Taking up exercise doesn’t mean that you need to go out and buy a whole new closet of clothes, but it does mean that you need to be wearing the right gear. For example, if you are performing cardio exercises in tight of restrictive clothing then you can cause injury to your body not being able to provide you with full support or the clothing restricts safe posture.
Instead, grab a few loose-fitting items from the Groupon Coupons page for LOFT to make sure that you are comfortable and safe during your exercises. Of course, this tip isn’t solely related to your clothing. It’s equally as important that you wear the correct shoes.
As comfortable as your regular sneakers may be, they aren’t designed for the heavy impact which comes from running. This can lead to a whole range of ankle and knee injuries that you just don’t want to have to deal with.
When it comes to exercise, the best advice you can take is to listen to your body and react to what it needs. If you need to stop and take a drink of water, be sure to do it. If you need to stop entirely, then stop!
