It’s the time of year for getting fitter and more active. You might have recently joined the gym, or just be making more of an effort than usual. But don’t let all your good intentions go to waste by acquiring an injury. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to take time off when you’re just getting started! Here are my top 3 tips for staying injury free…
Stretching
Make sure you incorporate stretching into your warm up and cool down every time you work out. Before you work out, the best way to stretch is with big whole-body movements. These active stretches are called dynamic stretching, and they will help your muscles become more elastic, and more resilient to the forces of exercise.
After exercise, it’s time to do some deeper, static stretching. These are traditional stretches, held for 30 seconds or more. This type of stretching on warm muscle will help to improve your flexibility, the range of movement of your joints, and prevent aching the next day. After exercise is also the time to recruit the foam roller, if you’re a fan!
Rest
This might sound counter intuitive at this time of year – but over working is a sure-fire way of getting injured. Many people might think they have to exercise every day to achieve their weight loss or fitness goal, but we actually perform better when we’re properly rested.
It is recommended to have at least one, if not two rest days from strenuous exercise a week. That being said, doing a yoga class, some stretching at home, or going for a walk on your “rest days” is much better for you than laying on the sofa all weekend! So the advice to rest here is relative!
Regular Manual Therapy
If you’re engaging in exercise on a regular basis, our practitioners would love to help you stay injury free!
People maintaining their sports performance can be recommended to visit an osteopath or sports masseuse once every 6-8 weeks. If you’re pushing your body harder, and want to become better at your sport, stronger in the gym, or more agile in your fitness class – we would recommend a more regular appointment slot, somewhere between 2 and 4 weeks depending on the type of exercise you’re doing.
A regular treatment is also a really nice way to reward yourself for all the hard work your body is putting in to keep you fit and healthy! Have fun exercising and staying injury free!
