5 Ways To Prevent Injuries During Exercise
Bad back? Sore knee? Aching shoulder? We’ve all been there!
Unfortunately it’s all too easy to injure ourselves during exercise, whether that be in the gym, at home, outdoors - sometimes we just aren’t being careful enough!
Aside from pain and discomfort, an injury also results in a break from training during recovery, adaptations to training and potentially not being able to work at the same level as before - so it’s really best to try and avoid them!
Here are 5 tips for injury prevention…
Completing a proper warm up
Your first tip starts as you walk onto the gym floor. Not warming up effectively is one of the biggest errors we see in the gym as it HUGELY increases your risk of pulling or injuring a muscle. Warming your muscles up properly increased blood flow and makes them less susceptible to being pulled or torn during exercise.
2. Technique
Technique is one of the most important things to get right during exercise as it ensures your posture and alignment are correct and that you are engaging the correct muscles. Incorrect technique will often lead to pulling a muscle, injuring a joint and placing your body out of alignment (which in turn makes the exercise less effective).
3. Resistance Level
Using the correct weight during an exercise can make or break it. Too heavy and your body won’t have enough control over the movement meaning you aren’t working where you’re intending, too light and you risk overcompensating with other muscles, overextending your joints or overstretching the muscle. Try using the following guideline for choosing your weight:
12-15 reps = 30-40% maximum effort level
8-12 reps = 50-70% maximum effort level
6-8 reps = 80-90% maximum effort level
If unsure check with a trainer!
4. Effective Cool Down
Far too often we see people finish their workouts and just walk out of the gym - no stretches, no cool down exercises - this is asking your body for an injury!
A cool down is just as important as a warm up, if you do not stretch and release the muscles, they will seize and tighten as stretching helps to reduce the build up of lactic acid and other waste products. It will also increase your flexibility which aids injury prevention as well as increases the quantity of nutrients that can get into your damaged muscles.
5. Overdoing it and ignoring rest days
We all have our limits and your body is no different. Imagine staring at a computer screen for 8 or 9 hours a day - you would need a break, right? Your body is no different. If you over do it on exercise, you will cause your performance to decrease and you may find it harder to reach your training goals. If you overwork the muscles they will strain or pull leading to an injury.
Try to include 1-2 rest days per week - it doesn’t mean you have to sit doing nothing, you could swap the gym for a light walk outside or some gentle stretching - just enjoy a break!
To Summarise…
Warm up and cool down properly, be mindful when choosing weights, watch your technique and enjoy a break every now and then!
If you found these tips helpful you might like to take a look at the following posts:
Rest and Recovery https://www.elevatefitness.uk/blog/our-guide-to-rest-and-recovery
Shoulder Helath https://www.elevatefitness.uk/blog/shoulder-health-in-rugby
Ski Season Prep https://www.elevatefitness.uk/blog/get-ready-for-ski-season
Cross Training for Runners https://www.elevatefitness.uk/blog/conditioning-work-for-runners
