5 ways to keep exercising in the New Year!

As the festive season has final drawn to a close and we all head back to work after some time off (eating and drinking), we all start to think about New Years Resolutions, Diets and Exercise! So today on the Physio blog I want to talk about 5 simple ways to keep you exercising this January, But more specifically, how best to reduce your risk of injury upon resuming exercise after a prolonged period of rest.

The reason I wanted to write about this is, without fail by Mid-January I get tons of phone calls from people who have sustained injuries to their: Neck, Shoulder, Back, Hips, Knees and Ankles all from an attempt to try and get "Fit and Healthy" as their New Year's resolution! (I.e. done too much, too soon!)

A lot of these ‘injuries’ can be prevented with some simple advice and coaching, so here are my 5 simple tips to keep exercising without injury this New Year:

Maybe wait on joining that bootcamp / Intense workout for a few weeks (if you’ve not exercised for a while).
Exercise needs to be built up slowly and not be too rapid too soon! I always use the analogy of Alcohol to my patients (stick with me on this!) If you drink a bottle of wine and you don’t normally drink much alcohol you will get rather drunk / ill quick. Whereas if you are a steady drinker and regularly drink the same amount per week you won’t probably suffer from a hangover as bad?? Therefore start off with simple exercise to begin with. The easiest way is to just get up and move more, with a walk, cycle or swim (I know it sounds basic) but just get some more steps in first. Remember if you don’t regularly walk, cycle or swim for a good 45-60mins, 3 times a week for the last few months, how on earth do you think you'll cope with running, jumping, boxing, press-ups and burpees in an intense fitness class then??
Mix simple cardio exercise with some bodyweight training: up to 3x per week.
You don't need loads of fancy gym equipment when you're first starting out. What will make the difference in the first few weeks will be how regular you do some exercise. 30-40mins of exercise, 3x per week is what drives the muscles to tone up. Late Jan / early feb is the best time to start more intensive exercise/classes (so long as you’ve built things up slowly). Don’t shy away from strength work though, as research shows that strength work can reduce overuse injuries by up to 50%! (Its not all about stretching!)
Train alternate days (or make sure you don’t work the same area consecutive days)?
I am a big fan of a Monday | Wednesday | Friday type training plan. This gives you a nice balance of: a day to train, then a day off to recover well. This does mean though when you do train you do need to push yourself a bit (break a sweat & feel a little ‘puffed out’). The fitness industry has moved recently to more HITT / Bootcamp & Cross-fit style workouts, as they are more fast & fun for people to fit into their busy diaries. This switch to more fast workouts has created a new culture/addiction where people want their ‘FIX’ of fitness (mainly for the endorphins). This has though caused a lot of injuries, where people are falling into the trap of ‘over-training’. I treat far too many people every year here who overtrain in their sport or gym. On paper people’s fitness schedules look ok, but their bodies just cannot cope! (Remember we are all individual and the plan you set may not work?)
Rest and Sleep are equally important too.
Don’t forget to factor in some rest for the body, this includes both Physical and Mental rest.. For any of your training to actually work and for your body to adapt, your body needs sleep! Research recommends that adults require 7-9 hrs sleep per night. Less sleep does equate to higher injury rates and poor physical and mental performance in both work and in sport.
If you have less than 2 recovery days in your schedule per week you are 5x more at risk of an overuse injury! (A little food for thought!!)
Set yourself a realistic goal/target (If not, find a PT or Physio who can help).
If your goal is to lose 10kg in 6 weeks, you need to think again and have a reality check! Weight loss or weight gain doesn't happen overnight. Get real on whats sensible and what is actually achievable. Whatever you choose to do this New Year, think about sustainability first. I hope whatever you choose to do you are still doing it 6-12 months later, (no fads or quick fixes please!!) Even when starting some weight training (or starting weights again after a break) there is nothing wrong starting light (with some babyweights but slowly increase up by 1-2kg per week. (Yes thats slow & boring but its safe). I see too many muscle tears from gym members here at The Physio & Sports Injury Clinic in Rhos who went too heavy too soon!!
Remember by increasing your weight from 1kg to 2kg = 100% increase. So when the time comes and you’re lifting into double figures - remember adding an extra 10kg on the dumbbell or bar or machine = 1000% increase in load/weight on the body!!!