Avoiding injuries should be a priority whether you are a beginner or a seasoned athlete. Mistakes can trigger sprains or serious injuries that could keep you sidelined for weeks.
This article provides practical tips you can apply to help prevent common exercise injuries. Follow these 10 tips to avoid exercise injuries and stay safe while working out.
1. Warm-Up
Skipping warm-up triggers injuries. Warming up before an exercise increases blood flow into your muscles, improves flexibility, and prepares your body for movement. Warm-up exercises improve flexibility by loosening your muscles and joints.
Set up a warm-up routine of 5 to 10 minutes before an activity. For example, your warm-up routine can include dynamic exercises, light cardio, and mobility exercises such as jogging, jumping a rope, and biking with an exercise bike.
2. Cool-Down
Cooling down brings your heart rate and temperature back to normal, prevents dizziness, and reduces post-work soreness.
Include 5 to 10-minute cool-down exercises to relax your muscles and help you recover. Examples of cool-down exercises include Light movements and stretching.
3. Proper Technique and Form
Improper technique or form increases the chances of an injury. Improper lifting techniques cause weight-related injuries that can be controlled if you have learned good form.
When starting a new exercise, light lifting in the correct form is better than heavy lifting to avoid the risk of an injury.
Here at Hong Kong Sports Clinic, we have professional trainers to train you on how to work out correctly. Our trainers help you start and complete an exercise professionally, especially if you are beginning or trying a new exercise.
4. Use of Appropriate Equipment
Use the right equipment for your sport. For example, if you are a runner, avoid wearing ordinary sports shoes and dress in shoes designed specifically for runners.
Some of the equipment necessary for sports include helmets, goggles, footwear, knee pads, mouth guards, and shin guards.
There are some safety measures you need to observe before using equipment. Always ensure that your equipment:
- Is working properly
- Fits properly
- Is designed for the right sport
- You use it correctly and often.
Also Read: Foot Orthotics and Running
5. Stretching
Stretching before and after an exercise improves flexibility and also lowers the chances of getting an injury.
Here are things you should avoid before stretching:
- Avoid stretching cold muscles. Warm-up first.
- Don’t bounce while stretching.
- Hold a stretch for not more than 30 seconds.
You can also include non-impact stretches in your stretching routine. Some of the non-impact exercises include swimming and stationary cycling. Always ensure that your routine includes stretches that focus on major muscle groups.
Further Read: Guide to Stretching Before a Run
6. Cross-training
Diversify your workouts to avoid overuse injuries. Overuse injuries occur when you stress the same muscles and joints in all your workouts.
Alternating between cardio, flexibility exercises, strength training, and rest days can promote balanced muscle development.
An example of a cross-train work routine is :
- Running on Monday
- Strength training on Tuesday
- Swimming on Wednesday
- Resting on Thursday
7. Gradual Progression
Increasing the intensity of your workouts gradually helps your body adapt, therefore preventing overuse injuries.
You can measure the intensity of your workout by checking the weight, speed, and duration. For example, avoid lifting heavier weights or running longer distances on day 1. Also, in your workout routine, start slowly and increase time, intensity, and frequency as your body adapts.
8. Listen to your Body
Never push through pain. Sharp pain, dizziness, or discomfort are signs that something is wrong. Mild muscle soreness after exercise is normal, but if you experience pain, stop immediately, rest, and seek medical advice if needed.
Your body may show that you are overdoing your exercises when you outnumber the number of exercises per day, increase the duration of exercise, or use too much energy while working out.
9. Incorporate Rest and Recovery
Lack of enough rest and overtraining weakens your body and increases the chances of getting an injury. Resting enables your muscles to relax and gives them a chance to recover from exercises.
How do you incorporate resting and recovery into your exercise routine? Resting and recovery can be initiated through scheduling 1 to 2 days per week to rest to prevent over-training. For example, you can train on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, then rest on Wednesday and Saturday.
Invest your time in active resting. Active resting includes low-impact exercises like yoga, walking, and stretching. Active resting prevents burnout and maintains flexibility.
10. Stay Hydrated and Maintain Nutrition
Dehydration increases the chances of orthopaedic injuries. Dehydration causes your muscles to be less pliable and reduces their flexibility. This causes muscle cramps, sprains, muscle tears, and bone fractures.
You should drink plenty of water before, during, and after working out to boost your performance and help your body function properly.
In your exercise routine, you can include this hydration routine :
- Drink at least 20 ounces of water 2 hours before a workout
- Drink 8 ounces of water during the workout.
- Drink 5 ounces of water after the workout.
Note: Always take plain water in place of sugary water
Nutrition plays an important role in injury prevention and muscle recovery. Nutrition has a significant effect on your physical and psychological well-being as an athlete. Antioxidants, protein, amino acids, omega 3, and creatine aid in muscle injury healing.
Conclusion
Training smart is the key to enjoying an injury-free athletic journey. By warming up, using proper form, proper nutrition, hydration, listening to your body, and giving yourself time to recover, you can enjoy consistent progress without setbacks.
Start applying these safety tips today and make injury prevention a top priority. Your body will thank you!
References
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8746600/
https://www.aston.ac.uk/sport/news/tips/fitness-exercise/prevent-injury-during-training
