Our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer says that there are things we can all do to avoid injuries in the first place.
You have made the decision to finally start exercising on a regular basis! Congratulations!
Or, you have been working out for a while now. Maybe you want to step things up.
Either way, one of the worst things that could happen in your efforts to maintain a consistent and healthy fitness routine is that your exercise gets derailed by a sports-related or exercise-related injury!
“I often get asked by clients what they can do to prevent injuries while they are exercising,” says our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer.
“Some of our clients have past injuries that they don’t wish to have exacerbated, but still others are worried about developing potential new injuries.”
Hire a professional Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer
- First, of course, is to hire a professional Trainer. Our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer, and all of our personal trainers, are educated in knowing when you are in proper alignment. Being in proper alignment is a huge factor regarding whether or not you will set yourself up for injury.
Our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer told us that he runs something called a Functional Movement Screening in the beginning of the client’s journey with us, that will allow him to see things like alignment or anything that the client might be compensating for physically.
Additionally, your training professional will show you the proper way to perform exercises, how often, in what succession, the progression of movement and exercise, the amount of weight you should be lifting, and what rest periods are appropriate. Proper rest periods will allow your muscles to repair themselves, and thereby help to prevent injuries.
Bad form can be an injury just waiting to happen. Your trainer will ensure that you exercise with good form only.
Always be sure to include any information about your age, that will help your trainer modify a routine that might include age-related limitations.
- Know your body’s limitations, and know your weak areas. Communicate any past issues you may have experienced with your training professional.
“If you had a bad football injury in college that sacrificed your shoulder and rotator cuff, and it’s never quite healed correctly, let your trainer know this,” says our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer. “We can always modify an exercise, or if necessary, avoid certain ones that will exacerbate an existing or recurring injury.”
- Do not do too much too quickly or with too much intensity.
Our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer told us about the “New Clients Group Welcome Letter” that he gives out.
“In this little notice, it advises our new group training clients to not give 100% in our Semi-Private Trainings. This is because your body needs to acclimate to the new exercise. There is a good chance in a month, you can give it your all, but when you first start out, you can experience injuries, or even feel dizzy or nauseous, if you are not careful.”
His advice here is to start out a bit slow. You can always ramp it up later if it is too easy for you.
Furthermore, do not lift weights that are too heavy. If you are lifting too heavy, your good form will disintegrate. Bad form often equals Injury!
- Always warm up.
Our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer knows that when clients are short on time, doing exercise on their own, that they will often skip the warm-up, thinking it is superfluous or just unnecessary. He says, “We always have our clients do at least a 5 minute warm-up. The warm-up is part of our process to avoid injuries.” Warm-ups help ease your body into the workout so that there is not an inordinate amount of stress on your body, that will then potentially cause injuries.
- Give your body proper breaks to repair/rest and vary your workout.
Repetitive use and overuse can invite injury. Think Shin Splints and tendonitis. The way to avoid these types of injuries is to give yourself rest days in between. Our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer likes to do upper body on day one, then lower body on day two and then upper body on day three, so that the client’s body has had enough time to repair itself in between. The client, however, is still exercising daily, but not hitting the same body part three days in a row to allow for repair.
Also, varying up your routine is a way to prevent the injuries caused by repetitive use.
- Stretch and cool down.
Just like you should warm up, don’t skip on cooling down. Light stretching will help the body stay agile, thereby making it less prone to injury. Remember to not bounce when you stretch!
With these things in mind, our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainers can assist you in continuing a healthy and productive fitness regimen, where you will continue to see progress. If you’ve gotten this far and still want to know why you should exercise, then by all means, learn more!
