The Best Ways to Avoid Workout Injuries

By Kristin Anderson

You’ve finally overcome the hurdle of your schedule, are committed to your fitness, and are getting in three or four workouts per week. You’re proud of yourself, you’re seeing results and feeling good. Now, there’s something else to consider: When you lead a physical life, you’re going to have occasional physical issues. So here are some tips on preventing, recognizing and recovering from injuries next step is learning and practicing how to prevent, recognize and recover from injury in order to keep up your new fitness routines.

Always Warm Up and Cool Down the Right Way

Our muscles and joints really need that warm up and cool down to prevent them from inflammation and achiness later. Warming up allows your systems (cardiac, muscular, endocrine, skeletal) to relax and get loose so you’re less likely to get injured. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your warmup involves stretching, which can actually injure your muscles because they’re still stiff. Instead, walk before you jog, ride your bicycle slowly before a spin class or get going at a gentle pace on the treadmill. After you’ve done your workout, slow down gradually. This is when you can do some simple stretches, but the key is not to overdo it.

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Mix Up Your Workouts Not only does changing your workouts keep you from getting bored, it actually helps prevent over-use injuries and avoid exercise plateaus. Try aerobics instead of jogging, or swim laps instead of doing the treadmill.

Stretch Gently Having a routine of stretching five to seven days a week, or even two to three times a week will make your muscles flexible, allowing them full range of motion and decreasing the likelihood of injuries and pain.

Stay Hydrated Water cushions joints, regulates our body temperature and helps our weight. And dehydration is cumulative, just like lack of sleep. It can lead to stiff/achy joints, unnecessary fatigue, and weight gain Get into the habit of drinking water throughout the day.

Listen to Your Body Know when you’ve gone too far and need to back off. If you have a sore muscle or achy joint, take care of it with the Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (RICE) method. (I like to add Advil or Aleve.) And if you think you’ve got an injury that needs medical attention, don’t wait. Go to the doctor. Waiting or not wanting to know makes it worse. If you have a medical problem, do what it takes to get better. If you need physical therapy, then get it done. If you need to take a rest, then rest.

About the Author

Kristin Anderson, a trainer with studios in San Francisco and Los Angeles, believes a “mixed-method” approach to fitness that uses various types of workouts to develop power, agility, endurance and balance. Anderson has developed an M-Train fitness app for the iPhone and iPod touch. You can find out more about M-Train and Kristin’s work by visiting www.mydailytrainer.com.

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