Top Tips for Injury Prevention
As the cooler Autumn weather arrives, our bodies and muscles are also feeling the cold and they tighten up, become more tired and less productive than during warmer seasons. This results in extra stress on our bodies and limited mobility during exercise which can in turn lead to injury. To help, our Personal Trainer, Jack shares his tips for injury prevention this Winter.
Warm up – Cool Down
- Increase blood flow to the working muscles via light cardio and dynamic stretching
- Increasing your heartrate is crucial to pumping warmer blood around your body increasing elasticity within the skin and flexibility
- Decreasing your heart rate slowly after your workout allows for your muscles to relax and blood to circulate back to your heart alleviating blood pooling
Using the correct workload
- When performing your exercises ensure you are moving within a comfortable range of movement
- Progressive overload – Make sure you are increasing the weight you use overtime as your body adapts
Nutrition
- When your muscles are sore after a workout consuming the correct amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats is important for recovery purposes
- Carbohydrates are needed to replace depleted energy storages. proteins should be used for repairing cells including muscles, and fats help absorb certain nutrients
Sleep
- Sleeping for at least 6-8 hours per night helps prevent overuse injuries, as your body has adequate rest time to heal your muscles between training sessions.
- Muscular adaptations only occur when we sleep so if you want to increase your muscle tone or get fitter make sure you get your sleep