Back in the Gym? 3rd January 2018
Many of us in a new year want to become healthier, and train harder than ever, to achieve health goals or simply to lose those extra pounds we have put on over Christmas!
If you are thinking of joining (or returning to) the gym here are my top 5 tips to help you to get the best from your exercise and prevent getting injured:
- Avoid a "no pain, no gain" philosophy as this can quickly set you up for an injury. Take your time to build up weight and resistance. Straining your body with unaccustomed exercise is the most common cause of muscle injury.
- Drink plenty of water before, during, and after you work out - Staying hydrated is essential for keeping the right electrolyte balance in the body, avoiding cramps and helping to flush the post-christmas toxins from your body.
- Perform a warm up and cool down routine for at least 10 minutes - a warm up should consist of dynamic movements, windmills, shoulder rolls, star jumps, hip circles etc and static stretches can be performed as part of your cool down.
- Ask trainer if you are unsure about the technique of an exercise. Don't be afraid to ask - you don't want to end up on youtube doing an exercise completey wrong :)
- Have a regular sports massage it will help reduce the post-exercise soreness and prevent injury, it will even enhance your training! So, if your not having a regular massage you are missing out!
Best wishes for a healthy start to 2018,
Joanna Matejko
Massage Therapist
