New Year, New You? 5 simple tips for returning to exercise in 2020

The new decade is well and truly here and an increasing amount of people are using the turn of the new year to focus on their health and fitness. Whether you are a going from no activity to some activity or increasing your current activity status, here are 5 fundamental tips to prevent injury when doing exercise.

1. Warm ups & Cool downs

Ok maybe don’t take a page out of Joe Maler’s book here. But warm ups help prepare your body for activity by raising your body temperature, increasing blood flow to skeletal muscles and they also helps prevent reduce post activity muscle soreness & lessen your risk of injury, what’s not to love? Cool downs allow for a gradual recovery of pre-exercise heart rate and blood pressure.

2. Be smart about your training.

Just because you could do a specific exercise 5-10 years ago doesn’t mean you can do it at the same frequency and intensity you can today. Too much too soon can be the number one reason why injuries occur. Gradually increase the intensity of your work outs over time to prevent those nagging injuries. Don’t be this guy! OUCH!

3. Stay hydrated and maintain good nutrition.

A new year often means a new diet for a lot of people, especially after over indulging over the holidays. If you are doing exercise remember your body needs sufficient energy to maintain health. Try not to focus on calorie consumption and instead simply focus on consuming fresher more wholesome food and remember try and drink at least 2lts of water a day.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Gyms, new clubs, fitness classes, they can all be pretty daunting especially if it seems like everyone knows what they are doing and your a newbie. Remember the staff are there to help you, ask them for some tips and perhaps invest in a personal training session, so you and a professional can set out some achievable goals for the first few months.

5. Listen to your body

Perhaps the most important one. Your body will give you signals when you need to take it easy and rest. If post exercises soreness lasts longer than 48 hours or if you are just persistently tired, then it’s probably time to take a bit of a rest or look over your exercise routine. Reduce your intensity for a week or take a couple of rest days.