If you’re a particularly motivated person, you know that heading to the gym is not something to dread – it’s something to look forward to. Being able to push your boundaries and work your body into a sweat can be hard but the feeling you get afterward when your workout is done is one that is of sheer relief. The very last thing you need to happen when you hit the gym is for the gym to hit back and you injure yourself.
When you finally make a commitment to get in shape, you need to be smart about it. It’s not just about rocking up for a session after work and going for a run on the treadmill. We know you’ll be really eager to see results quickly but if you jump in with feet first and don’t take care of yourself, you could be on the physiotherapy table getting treatment for an injury and researching personal injury claims! There are a lot of steps you can take in the gym to minimise the risk of injury while working out and getting fit and we’ve put some of those together for you.
Hire A Personal Trainer
Having a training plan written out for you, with a few sessions of being ‘spotted’ by a trainer can really help you to maximise your fitness and minimise your injury risk. They can teach you the correct technique for working out so that you can protect your body while getting healthy.
Know Your Body
The best way you can avoid injury is to know your own limitations and know how hard to push yourself. Identify existing aches and pains and get some advice from the right sources about how to work around that.
Warm Up Properly
There’s nothing worse you could do than jumping straight onto workout equipment without an effective warm up done first. You need to take some time to stretch and warm your muscles before jumping into a routine. If you forget this small step, you are risking over stretching the muscles and are putting yourself at risk of sprains.
Know When to Stop
When you are in the middle of a workout, you can feel when your body is getting too tired to keep going. If you ignore those signals and push past that feeling, you can do yourself some harm. Listen to your cues and understand how your body reacts to too much.
Act Your Age
When you work out, you can really feel your age in your joints. Doing cartwheels over the age of forty if you haven’t done them for years shouldn’t be something you immediately embark on! However, that doesn’t mean you cannot work on your flexibility and work hard later on.
A gym is a place for you to let your adrenaline rush burst out and tone your body. Doing this safely is so important so take the right advice and make it enjoyable. This then saves you time resting when you could be tightening up for that big event ahead![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]