Much of recent research has shown that there has been a boom of people picking up rigorous work out activities throughout the duration of last year since the pandemic hit us. There is enough reason to believe why this became such a huge trend. People had more time on their hands as they did not have to commute to their office every single day as they did previously. Also, since a lot of people started spending more time on the various social media platforms, they got inspired by the other people who were embarking on such exercise ventures. It was also a way to keep away boredom and to get fitter as stepping out of the house to go to the gym was no longer a possibility for the longest time.
While it seems like a positive shift on the face of it and it is mostly, some negative albeit small effects have also been recognised which are associated with engaging in rigorous exercises at home. People have been suffering from injuries due to a number of reasons like improper equipment and conditions. In this article, we will examine all these problems in detail and will further discuss some ways in which these common but serious injuries can be easily avoided.
- Invest In The Right Equipment:
One common mistake that people make when they start with a new exercise is to not invest in the proper equipment for that activity. While it is totally understandable to want to wait and see if you can keep up with the rigorous exercise first before buying expensive things, it can spell trouble for you. For example, if you have recently taken up running but do not invest in proper running shoes, you may end up hurting your back or your feet as other common sneakers are not able to provide the required cushion and proper support to your foot while you run.
- Know When To Stop:
One thing which is not talked about enough in this regard is to know when to push yourself to do more of the exercise and knowing when your body has had enough and to stop. It is important for everyone to realise that not every person’s body is the same and hence their exercise endurance will also be vastly different. Only you can know when your body is asking you to stop. It is imperative to listen to your body, especially when you are just starting out, in order to avoid injuries through overworking it. You should also make it a point to ease into working out more gradually, instead of going full guns blazing right on the very first day.
- Prepare For Possible Injuries:
When you first start working out, it is quite obvious that your body will not be used to it initially. So it is important to take it slow and then gradually build up to a rigorous workout. Failing to do this can lead to unduly straining your muscles, injuries, pains and aches. But if they are not serious enough to require immediate medical attention, minor problems can easily be fixed by using a hot and cool pack on the affected area for some time. This can help in providing instant relief to your muscles and will not aggravate your strain at all.
- Maintain Proper Form:
Another major cause of undue injuries is of not maintaining proper form while exercising consistently. This can put strain on your muscles and can also lead to serious chronic health problems if continued over a long period of time. In order to avoid this and to understand the correct form and posture in which to workout, you can start by exercising under a professional trainer. If that is not possible for you, you can try to correct your form yourself by searching the correct forms on the internet and consciously holding them whenever you indulge in your workout.
- Incorporate Protein In Your Diet:
When you start engaging in a rigorous workout routine, your body loses some amount of muscle to provide you with the ample strength to keep working out. If you do not plug this loss in muscle by eating a proper diet with the required nutrients, you can make your body weak and unable to sustain doing those workouts. So it is important to incorporate foods which are rich in protein in your regular diet to keep your body healthy enough to keep working out and functioning in a proper way.
- Space Out Your Workouts:
In order to avoid overworking your body and muscles, it is important to give your body enough time to rest in between two especially hard workouts. If you do not do this regularly enough, it can lead to excessive fatigue and major injuries to your body which will be difficult to fix. You can start out by making your breaks longer but as your body becomes more accustomed to doing those workouts, you can start shortening those breaks. Although, it is still important to rest your body enough even if you have been working out for a long amount of time.
- Do Not Avoid Warming Up And Cooling Down:
Warming up before doing a workout and cooling down after it can help your muscles get properly ready for exercising. If you instantly start exercising, your muscles may get a shock and this is a common cause of injuries. Also after working out, if you fail to cool down, your muscles may not be able to rest up in a proper way. While this is true while doing any kind of workout, it is even more important when you have been engaging in rigorous exercise. If you do not want to do something too fancy, you can just do some simple but effective stretching exercises which can easily help to accomplish this purpose.
We hope that you have gotten enough pointers on how to avoid common injuries and muscle strains while working out in a rigorous way through reading this article. If you found any of these tips helpful, do let us know and also share this article with your near and dear ones who may be prone to workout injuries.