You already know the importance of working out on a regular basis. No matter what you enjoy doing, from running to going to the gym or practicing yoga, getting in a good workout can completely turn your day around.
But, just as important as regular workouts are rest days. It’s recommended that you rest one day after every 3-5 days of exercising. This gives your body a chance to recover and your muscles a chance to repair. Simply put, it’s the best way to stay safe if you workout regularly.
There are also ways you can stay safe during your exercise routines, no matter what they are.
With that in mind, let’s look at a few tips you can use while you work out to protect yourself, while still having fun and breaking a sweat.
1. Warm Up and Work Your Way Up
You should always plan for at least a 10-minute warm-up, no matter what type of exercising you’re doing. Doing a strenuous workout with cold muscles can put you at a greater risk of injury.
Fluid stretches, light jogging in place or even some jumping jacks can help to get your blood flowing and warm your muscles. Even after a warm-up, you should ease into your workout gradually, building up the intensity as time goes on.
2. Protect Your Ears
Many people listen to music while working out, and it can be a great motivator! But, you probably aren’t thinking about the overall health of your ears while you’re doing it. If you’re listening to loud music with headphones in the gym or at home, you could be damaging your ears which could eventually lead to hearing issues.
Be sure to protect your hearing while you’re working out by turning the music down, or listening to music that doesn’t have such a driving bass.
3. Practice Good Form
Strength training is a great way to burn fat, build muscle, and get stronger. But, too many people make the mistake of using too much weight and not paying attention to their form. You will actually get in a better strength training workout with less weight and proper form.
A good rule of thumb is to have a mirror in front of you whenever you’re doing strength training. That way, you can check in at every angle of your position to make sure you’re doing it correctly. Improper form can easily cause an injury, including sprains and/or pulled muscles. If you don’t know how to do a particular move with the correct form, try it first with no weight at all until you’re sure you’re doing it correctly.
4. Drink Plenty of Water
You can never be reminded enough to stay properly hydrated during a workout. That’s especially true on hot days or if you are exercising in a warm place. Working out can quickly cause you to become overheated. You may exhibit signs like:
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Headache
- Cramps
If you start to feel any of those issues, make sure you stop exercising immediately, get a drink, and cool off as quickly as possible.
While working out should be fun and you should be comfortable with pushing yourself, it’s also important to listen to your body. Keep these safety tips in mind during your next exercise routine to ensure you’re doing what’s best for your body.
So important! As a former athletic trainer, exercise safety is a must!
This is so important! Recently I injured both my knees because I was lifting too heavy. Great tips
Great tips ! I used to exercise for long periods without drinking fluid or having a full meal after and would get super dizzy, sometimes even faint.
These are great tips. I’m sure these are things that easily get overlooked. Hopefully they won’t get overlooked anymore.
Great tips! I always forget to warm up and cool down after a workout and really feel it the next day.
Drinking water is so important! Thanks for the reminder.
Wonderful tips. I always have to remember to warm up. I am usually so ready to get straight into the workout – IN MY MIND lol
Great reminder shared here, totally agree with warm up 1st, I have learnt about protect your ears here, thanks for this. cheers, siennylovesdrawing
What awesome tips! I didn’t even think about protecting my ears while exercising. Great reminder. Thank you for sharing!
These are all great tips especially the warming up tip. People dont realize how important this is.
Thanks for these awesome tips! Drinking water is always a good idea. When we release sweat, we need to replenish!
These are some great tips. I always forget to stretch before and after a workout. I know I am a horrible person. lol I need to remind myself.
These are great reminders. Protecting our ears is probably something people overlook a lot. I sometimes get headaches after I work out, and it is probably because of water. I will try to be more mindful of that!
It really is so important to cautious when working out because one can damage their back and body. I have to be super careful when I work out because of diastasis.
These are great tips! I never stopped to think about protecting my ears and the effects of the laud music. Thank you for the reminder!!
cant stress drinking water enough. it’s more important than you think
Staying hydrated is so important, not only for your body but for your skin as well. Thanks for these pointers. WIll be implementing a couple during my fitness journey.
I need to drink more water! I always carry a water bottle but I never drink it. LOL! This is motivating
Some really great tips here. Totally agree to warming up and drinking plenty of water x
Some really good tips here! Totally agree to warming up and drinking plenty of water.
Good form is so true. That is the hardest for me!
This is so true! Some people forget that they also need to give their body a time to recover and relax after exercising for a couple of days because if we don’t do this, we’ll just exhaust ourselves and that’s not a good practice. Thanks for these tips!
I needed these tips as I’m trying to get back into a daily work out routine.