One thing I have found over the years is that a lot of my friends when they get inspired by the way I live, always seem to be telling me stories about injuries caused by strained muscles while working out. There is a right way and a wrong way to exercise so I came up with a list of 7 tips on how to exercise correctly.
1. Always Consult with Your Doctor
It is true that many conditions can be improved by exercising, it is still always a good idea to consult with your doctor sometime before starting any type of workout schedule. The guidance and expertise your doctor can give you to help tailor to your personal needs, especially if living with asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions, is certainly invaluable.
2. Try Looking the Part
Speaking from experience, the last thing you want to be concerned about while working out is any type of discomfort from your workout wear. You should wear clothes that don’t restrict your movements or blood flow. You should also wear breathable material while you sweat because believe me, you will sweat. As far as shoes go, you should select a pair that is matched to the type of exercising you will be doing.
3. Always Do a Warm Up
Before hopping into your workout routine, it is imperative that you do some sort of a warm-up routine. You can do that with a light jog, or a bike ride, by doing some jumping jacks, or any other type of exercise which will raise your heart rate for at least five minutes. However, any form of stretching before you exercising is strongly discouraged, because you may increase the risk of pulling or straining some muscles.
4. Stay Hydrated
Never underestimate the importance of staying hydrated as far as your health goes, especially when exercising. Since you will sweat during a workout, by hydrating your body, that can lessen the risk of muscle cramps that will likely occur with dehydration.
5. Keep an Eye on Your Form
We are not talking about the form you filled in at the gym earlier but form as in not cranking out your repetitions too fast. Even if your workout begins slowly, try maintaining a good form as this can still lead to effective and visible results. If you rush and use jerking movements, particularly while lifting weights, this could cause very serious injury.
6. Always Keep Moving
Throughout your workout, you should keep moving to maintain an elevated heart rate. Not a rule but it is a good idea to limit your conversation with others while working out so you can maintain concentration. As a guide though, if you cant hold a conversation, you may be exercising a little too hard. On the flip side of that, if you are chatting a little too much, maybe you are not exercising hard enough.
7. Don’t Forget to REST!
When I say rest, I don’t mean resting on your health goals. All of your muscle groups should have at least a day or two of recovery time in between sessions to help prevent injury. Not only that, you should be listening to your body so if you are feeling incredibly sore one day, do take the day off! Better to be safe than sorry when it comes to injuries from exercising.
