How To Stay Safe Before, During And After Your Workout Routine
We all want to stay safe and be in the best shape that we can be, that’s a universally acknowledged truth. However, getting in good shape can put us in bad shape, and that’s the worst of the truth about getting fit; it seems you can’t win!
Safety in workout routines is mostly there to stop you from hurting yourself when it comes to doing your crunches and lunges. Or to keep your knees in good shape, and to make sure any deadlifting you want to accomplish is gradually built up to.
So, to make sure you don’t hurt yourself and stay safe when it comes to committing to a workout routine, remember to follow some of the below tips. And don’t push yourself into anything without researching and practicing first.
Stay Safe When Working Out
Here are a few tips that must be followed if you want to stay safe when work out:
1. Wear And Use The Right Stuff
When it comes to committing to a workout routine, the first rule to stay safe whilst you’re trying to get a little healthier and stronger is to use the right equipment.
It’s important that your setup is perfect to begin with. And even if it isn’t, make sure you’re using alternatives similar to the best thing for you.
If you’re going running on a cold morning, be sure to wear some thermal clothes. This helps keep your blood flowing properly, and means you’re not suffering from exposure at the same time.
Similarly, if you don’t know how to use a machine at the gym, instead of trying it out yourself and getting it wrong or feeling like you look silly with not knowing, be sure to ask an employee or trainer. After all, they’re there to help!
Be sure to use the right equipment for the benefit of your mental health as well. Because a workout that’s poorly planned or executed can take more out of us than we think at first, and turn us off from the idea in the future.
It’s also good to remember that exercise is useful for clearing our minds of stress and bad vibes as well. So we don’t need any bad associations with exercise to stop us from doing wonders for every facet of our health!
2. Why Warm Ups Are A Good Idea?
Everyone’s heard of a warm up. It was drilled into our heads as children by teachers and coaches whenever a sports day rolled around or we took to the track to show off cross country skills.
However, understanding why it’s so essential without going through all the pain of experience is going to literally save you a whole world of hurt.
So you need to prepare yourself for some heavy duty movement in the next 30 minutes or hour. And there’s no better way of doing that than a warm up.
Your muscles are dependent on oxygen to run smoothly and healthily, and to make movement easier. So you need to help increase your blood flow to them. That’s part of what a warm up does for you!
Let’s not forget the important element of mental preparedness as well. Because doing a warm up gives you better expectations of your ensuing exercise routine. And it can help you to work out and get through your limitations as well.
A warm up can be any kind of light aerobic exercise intended to break out a light sweat but not to wear you out. This mostly includes a bit of walking or jogging, or some good stretching.
3. Why You Also Need A Cool Down?
Imagine it, you’ve just finished the bulk of your cardio or strength training, you’re feeling the strain, and you’ve decided sitting down is the best idea.
However, you feel a little light headed, and your heart is beating incredibly fast, and you don’t like the feeling at all. It sounds like you’re in need of a cool down!
So we’ve established that a warm up is essential, but a lot of people don’t know about the second part to that: the cool down.
There’s a lot of science behind it, but the main thing you need to know is that a cool down needs to be about 5 to 10 minutes in length, and does the following things for your body:
- It keeps your heart rate healthy and stable over a gradual period without the associated complications if you’d just stopped suddenly. Your bpm is dependent on this, so you need to make sure you have a wind down period after the majority of your workout to get it to return to normal.
- It also allows your breathing to get less heavy, and makes you less light headed with the amount of oxygen your body is trying to get at once.
- You’re also less likely to be dizzy compared to just stopping, and it means you’re less sweaty and feeling horrible about that when you’re finished up.
4. Keep The Stretches Topped Up
Stretching is incredibly versatile, and it makes you incredibly versatile! Stretches help us in all walks of life, so when you’ve finished a workout, make sure to limber up before you pack away.
They can also be done in about 5 minutes whenever you need to. Stretches can be done anywhere you are; at your desk, in your shower, or at the gym!
Your body knows its limits, and that’s why pain has hung around throughout evolution for the most part. If you’ve overdone it in one area, make sure to do some stretches to alleviate your wear and tear symptoms. And make your future routines more effective for your health and strength.
If you need more flexibility in your life, the best parts of your body to work out are your legs. That’s because they’re what we can reach out most of all, and toning them up looks great!
Try out moves such as:
- Quad stretch, which flexes out your quads and your hamstrings;
- Bridge with a leg reach, which works wonders for your abs and glutes and most obviously your back;
- Butterfly stretch, which once again pulls on your hamstrings and glutes to loosen them up.
5. Remember, An Injury Isn’t The End!
We’ve talked about the mental factor of a safe workout throughout this post. And there’s no more important matter for it than getting back onto the exercise horse after suffering a bad injury.
We can feel incredibly down about not being as physically able as we once were, but it’s never the end.
There’s always something to do, and one of the best solutions of all is to do some gentle exercise to get back into the flow of things.
There’s no use in overdoing it, so a couple of movements a day, or a few stretches in the morning and before bed, can rebuild your strength and better your image of yourself.
Of course, sometimes things can feel a little more serious, and that’s when you’re going to need some professional help.
If you have injured yourself due to a sports or exercise related incidence, and it doesn’t heal on its own, you can contact some orthopedic surgeons. They’ll tell you how serious your injury really is, or schedule a surgery if it is needed.
Safety always needs to come first, as that is the main thing that can make your health go above and beyond. Be sure to listen to your body when it comes to your routine, and don’t be afraid to chop and change if need be.
Be flexible, be smart, and take advice from the pros. Stay safe!
Stay Safe While Working Out
