Exercise stresses your body. You don’t have to be an Olympic medallist. You may just love taking part, do it for social participation, general health, fitness goals, or wellbeing benefits. Your body needs the right amount and types of stresses.
Here’s 6 simple steps you can take to protect your health when exercising:
1. Warm-up
A 10 minute warm-up of gradually exposing our body to increased heart rate and increasing range and speed of joint movement prepares your body effectively. Warm-up makes a difference to how our tissues perform. You are less likely to injure tissue if you warm up in this way.
2. Think of the intensity of your exercise
How many times do you perform your exercise? What speed? If using weights, how heavy? How many hills are there in your program? Downhills count too for runners! Change training variables gradually.
3. Strengthen your thigh muscles
Do a few simple strengthening exercises for the quadriceps twice a week. For example, squats or lunges. This gives you stable, well supported knee joints.
4. Look after your back
Work on posture, flexibility, and having core muscle control. We live in a world of sitting – try to break it up regularly. Simply standing up and sitting down again every 30minutes has a marked benefit in changing tension on tissues and improving circulation. Walk and stand more.
5. Schedule recovery time
Have 2 days a week where you don’t do strenuous exercise. This allows your tissues to recover, adapt, and strengthen. Training is the stimulus. Recovery is where your body changes.
6. Be structured & consistent
Approach sport and exercise in a structured and consistent way and you’ll really experience the benefits. Stress your body in a good way!
Call me to discuss anything in this article.
Here’s 6 simple steps you can take to protect your health when exercising:
1. Warm-up
A 10 minute warm-up of gradually exposing our body to increased heart rate and increasing range and speed of joint movement prepares your body effectively. Warm-up makes a difference to how our tissues perform. You are less likely to injure tissue if you warm up in this way.
2. Think of the intensity of your exercise
How many times do you perform your exercise? What speed? If using weights, how heavy? How many hills are there in your program? Downhills count too for runners! Change training variables gradually.
3. Strengthen your thigh muscles
Do a few simple strengthening exercises for the quadriceps twice a week. For example, squats or lunges. This gives you stable, well supported knee joints.
4. Look after your back
Work on posture, flexibility, and having core muscle control. We live in a world of sitting – try to break it up regularly. Simply standing up and sitting down again every 30minutes has a marked benefit in changing tension on tissues and improving circulation. Walk and stand more.
5. Schedule recovery time
Have 2 days a week where you don’t do strenuous exercise. This allows your tissues to recover, adapt, and strengthen. Training is the stimulus. Recovery is where your body changes.
6. Be structured & consistent
Approach sport and exercise in a structured and consistent way and you’ll really experience the benefits. Stress your body in a good way!
Call me to discuss anything in this article.
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