Hot tips on getting back into exercise

With the warmer weather kicking in, it becomes a little easier to exercise. However, it is crucial you do not rush to achieve your ‘summer body’ – it is a process that must be taken carefully to prevent a setback.  This blog will tell you some hot tips to getting back into exercise safely.

Begin with what works for you

Starting to exercise again can feel like a chore to some. When beginning, it is critical to establish a routine. Although it can be hard to get into this routine, start with the exercise you enjoy, and it will feel a little less like a chore and more like a hobby.

Whether it be taking the dogs for a walk, or going for a bike ride with your friends. When you enjoy the exercise you perform it will assist in getting you into routine and maintaining incentive to continue.

Ease into exercise

Although our motivation to exercise can sometimes overrule our minds, easing into exercise is important to prevent the risk of an injury. When beginning to exercise for the first time again, it is important to remember that you are just starting out.

Aiming to lift the heaviest weight and perform very strenuous exercises to begin can inflict stress upon joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Therefore, increasing the risk of an injury.

Start light, and gradually increase the weights you are training with. This way, you are giving your body time to adapt to the exercise and can progress safely.

Don’t forget rest days

Sometimes when we start exercising, we want to get results as soon as possible and continue to exercise in sometimes, extreme cases. Allowing your body to have rest days is key for your muscles to recover and prevent muscle soreness.

If exercise is carried out daily with no rest days, this can place a lot of stress on your body and increase the risk of injury as a result of overload.  This will then set you back on your fitness journey as you will likely need to have more than just one rest day to recover from your injury.

Warm up/ Cool down

Before we exercise, we need to prepare our muscles for activity through a warm up. A dynamic warm up is best to increase blood flow to the muscles allowing a sufficient oxygen supply throughout the exercise.  Check out Pivotal Motion online blog for some simple warm up stretches to do before exercise.

Cooling down post exercise is just as important to help return your heart rate and blood pressure back to normal, and to assist in the removal of waste products built up throughout the activity.

The warm up and cool down of your exercise can be the most important step in minimising the risk of injury, post muscle discomfort/ soreness and pain.

If you need assistance with getting back into exercise, Pivotal Motion Physiotherapy are here to guide you in the right and safe direction. We can assist with injuries, rehabilitation, exercise technique and prevention strategies. Call 07 3352 5116 or book an appointment online with a physiotherapist Brisbane trusts!