If you are on a quest to get fit, you may push yourself in ways that counteract your journey to health. Nothing is less helpful to getting fit than being laid up in a cast for two months!

Many people get injured while trying to get healthy. If you want to avoid exercise-related injuries, use your common sense and follow the signs from your body. A little guidance from professionals can help as well.

Here are twelve tips on how to prevent injuries during your workout.

1. Warm Up

It is super important to warm up before any physical activity. Warming up can entail any kind of low-level activity which raises your body temperature and gets your lungs and blood moving.

Warming up prepares your cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous and musculoskeletal systems for the big push. You can warm up by performing low energy versions of the actions you anticipate: if you are going running, a brisk walk will warm up the leg and calf muscles and get your heart rate up before you launch into a sprint.

Once your body temperature is raised after about five to ten minutes, you can increase the level of your activity. You can incorporate stretching into your warm up, but you should refrain from stretching before warming up because you might tear a muscle.

Warming up not only prevents injuries, but it increases the efficacy of your work out as well.

2. Dress Appropriately

If you try to run wearing shoes that are worn out, you run the risk of twisting your ankle or hurting your arches from lack of support. If you wear baggy sweats during an aerobics class, you may trip on your cuffs and tear a ligament.

Dressing appropriately for your exercise regimen is more than just fashion. If you are not dressed appropriately for the weather, you might get overheated or you might get frostbite.

If you want to avoid gym-related injuries, stick to clothes designed for your particular workout. You will want to stick to fabrics designed to wick moisture away from the skin to avoid chafing and rashes. You will want to choose clothing that won’t get in your way, but not outfits that are so tight that they constrict movement.

3. Seek Professional Training

If you have not worked out in a while, you should consider getting personal coaching or training. If it has been a few years since your last visit to the gym, you may need a little education in how your body has aged and how you can best get back into shape without hurting yourself.

If you are interested in a particular sport, like bodybuilding or swimming, it’s always a great idea to get a few personal training sessions. These can inspire you while at the same time instructing you on ideal form and practices. The expert guidance of a pro can help you avoid injuries and also set you on the path to excelling in your chosen sport.

A trainer can also teach you the proper way to use the equipment necessary for your workout. For example, if you don’t use an elliptical correctly, you risk pulling something in your back. If you fail to keep your bicyle in excellent working order, you might have an accident at 40 miles per hour.

Take advice from the experts in order to get the most out of excersie .

4. Hydrate

Not all injuries at the gym are muscular. You can incur internal injuries as well if you fail to take care of your inner organs. The best way to make sure you are healthy inside and out is by drinking enough water before, during and after your workout.

Drinking H20 helps transport nutrients to your cells, remove waste products like lactic acid, lubricate your joints and stabilize your body temperature. If you don’t drink enough water, you will not achieve your maximum potential in your workout routine.

Failing to hydrate can affect your energy and blood levels, causing headaches and fatigue. Severe dehydration can lead to a serious medical emergency like a stroke, kidney failure or seizures.

5. Cross Train

One of the best ways to avoid exercise-related injuries is to vary your work out schedule. By mixing it up, you will use different muscles. This keeps it interesting and prevents you from getting bored! And losing concentration is another way athletes end up getting hurt.

If you use the same muscle group day after day in the same repetitive patterns, you can overstress that part of the body. This leads to soreness from overuse and possible injury. If you do a lot of weight lifting, for example, taking a swim one day a week will take pressure off your joints and help elongate the muscles that you have been bulking up.

6. Work Your Way Up

No one runs a marathon without training first. You should never attempt an exercise that is beyond your ability.

If you are a runner, start out with relatively short distances and work your way up to longer ones. Treat weights the same way: choose a lighter set for your initial workouts, then gradually increase the degree of difficulty.

Attempting feats before you are ready is a sure recipe for disaster: can you imagine climbing a mountain before scaling an indoor rock climbing wall, or jumping a horse before you learn to gallop? Knowing your limits and being patient are important ways to prevent injuries.

7. Get a Spotter

If you are looking for a new gym, make sure you like the people who work there. You will need them to teach you how to use the machines and possibly spot you on the free weights.

Some people like their workout buddies to spot them when they are lifting, and that’s fine if they know what they are doing. Accidents from poor spotting with heavy equipment can be very serious.

8. Poor Nutrition

You may be working out to lose weight. That’s an excellent motivation! A good cardio workout with exercises aimed at blasting belly fat can do wonders for your body and self-esteem.

Don’t make the mistake of reducing your caloric intake too drastically. Working out effectively requires fuel, and if you do not eat properly you can feel tired and weak. That increases your chance of getting hurt at the gym.

You can get nutritional counseling to learn more about healthy foods that will increase your energy without adding to your waistline.

9. Cool Down

You may be tempted to run off to work or to go pick up the kids immediately after your exercise session: if you got your cardio in, it’s all good, right?

Actually, failing to take the time to let your body cool down can also result in bodily injuries. If you stop moving suddenly after elevating your heart rate, you may feel lightheaded and even see stars, running the risk of blacking out or falling down.

Cooling down is a good time to stretch as well, instead of before the workout. Your muscles will be more warm and pliable, so you will be less likely to tear something if you take time to stretch after working out.

10. Massage

Massage feels great and helps you feel relaxed. It also has proven therapeutic benefits, helping alleviate the pain of sports injuries and even preventing you from incurring more injuries.

Exercise causes your muscles to become shorter and tighter, making them harder for them to relax. If your muscles are chronically tight, not only is that uncomfortable but you will be more prone to those muscles pulling or tearing.

Sports massage improves muscle flexibility and range of motion, and it shortens the recovery time needed between each workout. It increases blood flow, optimizing the supply of oxygen and reducing blood pressure. It can also promote the healing of the connective tissue.

11. Take a Break

An extremely important component to fitness that many athletes forget is that your body needs time to rest and recovery. Take a day off once in a while.

You will come back to the gym with renewed energy and motivation if you let yourself have some time to rest.

12. See a Doctor when Necessary

If you experience recurring pain or soreness in a particular part of your body even after resting, massage and aspirin, you may need to see a physician. Working out on an injury can inflict lasting damage.

Because some injuries may require serious treatment like surgery, you want to make sure you find the best sports medicine provider you can. You will want someone with whom you feel comfortable, who shares your philosophy on wellness, and who has all the proper credentials.

Being strong means accepting help when necessary! If you have pushed your body too far and it does not get better, see a doctor.

Pay Attention to How to Prevent Injuries In Order to Get the Most Out of Your Workout

By resolving to improve your physical condition through exercise, you have already taken a great first step towards better health, more energy and an improved quality of life. Make sure you preserve those benefits of exercise by taking a few precautions against injury. If you remember how to prevent injuries, you will save yourself lots of pain and delay on the road to fitness.

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