When you are a regular at the local fitness complex, you build up a routine. You might alternate strength and cardio with swimming and rock climbing, but you get into your routine, and you enjoy every bit of it! The only issue with working out so hard is the sheer stress that you put onto your body. Of course, if you treat it correctly and avoid injuries during sports, you’re not going to have to worry.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the ways you can prevent sports injuries from occurring and continue to enjoy your time working out. Below, we’ve got five handy hints to help you to reach your sporty goals in one piece!
Rule 1: Always Warm Up
You cannot expect to avoid a trip to the physiotherapy clinic if you don’t warm up. It would help if you made sure that your muscles are ready for a workout. Otherwise, you risk your muscles cramping up, then possibly tearing, and a trip to the physiotherapist to get you back to your full health. It doesn’t have to be a massive warm-up that takes as long as the workout itself, but you do need to stretch and get your heart rate going.
Rule 2: Always Wear The Right Clothing
If you’re not wearing the right gear for your sport, you’re in the wrong sport. Back support belts are a good idea if you’re lifting weights, and if you plan to run, make sure that you have the right footwear. It’s so much easier to protect yourself from sporting injuries if you make sure that you have the right equipment on!
Rule 3: Eat Well
A big part of sporting injuries comes from a lack of nutrition. If you’re not eating well, your muscles won’t be strong and healthy enough to perform well for you. It would help if you also were hydrated to keep them healthy, preventing dehydration in the muscles and added aches and pains.
Rule 4: Rest, Rest, Rest
If you can feel you’ve pulled a muscle or had an injury, you need to go for as much rest as possible. Early intervention is essential; with rest, ice, compression, and elevation is the most important protocol to follow.
Rule 5: Don’t Overdo It
The golden rule of sports injury avoidance is to stop pushing yourself too hard. Going beyond your own physical limits is a stupid idea if you want to remain healthy while you work out. It’s crucial to be slow and purposeful in your movements, especially with a new exercise. You need to respect your own limitations and not go too hard, or you could not only tear your muscles but do even further damage purely because you haven’t respected yourself.
There is nothing wrong with going to the gym and enjoying a new sport, but if that new sport is not something that you are used to, you need to be careful and exercise slowly. You want to be in the best possible health, and this is how to do it!
