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Do you want to get fit this year? Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to do more exercise?

Great!

It’s a wonderful resolution and the benefits are limitless, including;

• Stress relief
• Clearing your mind
• Cardiovascular improvements
• Building strength/tone
• Weight loss
• Endophin release – makes you feel goooooood!

All wonderful stuff.

So how are you going to achieve it?

Here are a few tips to help you make this resolution a reality:

  1. Make time for yourself – we all have busy lives and its so easy to push exercise to the bottom of the “to do” list! Find ways to help you stick to a routine – put it in your diary, invite a friend along, join a team or exercise group – just do it!
  2. Start slowly and build up – its so easy to be so enthusiastic and go hard at the start only to do ourselves an injury in the first few days/weeks – there goes our resolution out the window. Start slowly and build on it by changing one element of the exercise at a time:
    • Increase duration
    • Increase distance
    • Increase intensity (weight/speed/surface)
    Or whatever is appropriate to your chosen exercise. This is a much safer way to increase activity.
  3. Get injuries checked – This is REALLY important. If you’ve had an injury in the past and it settled with rest only – chances are it is still lurking beneath the surface ready to rear its ugly head when you start to load it. Don’t set yourself up to fail – get it checked by a physio and get a plan to return to exercise.
  4. Consult your physio before starting a new program/sport – if its been a while since you’ve exercised, get a musculoskeletal screening done by your Physio – remember prevention is better (and cheaper) than a cure!
  5. Invest in good sports shoes – how long has it been since you replaced those runners??? Research shows that you should replace your sports shoes every 6-12 months depending on how much you wear them. Remember, a stable house needs good foundations if you don’t want it to crack.
  6. Stretch before you start – try and spend at least a few minutes stretching before you start (10-15 minutes is perfect)– even if its just the big muscle groups. Include hamstrings, calves, quadriceps, hip flexors, lower back and chest.
  7. Hydration is vital – make sure you are drinking plenty of water before, during and particularly after exercise. 50-75% of our bodies are made up of water – its so important to replenish this. Don’t wait until you are thirsty – make a habit of drinking water regularly.

Following these steps will help you make your fitness goals a reality. Get out there and get into it.

If you stumble, let us help pick you up – sporting injuries are our forte!