Did you set a New Year’s resolution to be better about working out? If so, you are not alone. Many people start the new year with a resolution to get back into the gym. Here at Beacon Physical Therapy, it is not uncommon for us to see new injuries when people start new exercise patterns. Read on here as today, we are going to talk about you can approach a new fitness routine safely, and prevent unwanted injury.

Gym memberships see a big surge in the month of January and for many people, it’s a great time to hit the re-set button on exercise routines. With all of the rain here in the Bay Area these past few weeks, a gym membership has been extra handy to enable indoor activity!  For anyone starting a new gym routine, check out the tips we cover below to make your experience of getting back into movement as positive and injury-free as possible!

Start slowly

If you’re new to working out or if you haven’t exercised in years, it might be difficult to not hit it hard. Your motivation is high! With that said, we are advising the opposite: start slowly. Oftentimes people will go full force into their first workout only to come out the other end with significant soreness or injury. In this case less is more; you want to gradually introduce your body to new movement patterns. It is quite likely that you will get sore no matter how slowly you go, and that’s okay. A little soreness is something that both makes you feel that the effort was worth it, but is also something you can work with. The key is to not get yourself so sore that you can’t do anything two days later. We say this because the best thing to do for muscle soreness is to move through it and repeat the same exercises you did two days prior. Think of it as chasing the hair of the dog. No need to take ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatories either. It might sound like a good idea at the time to take away the pain, but these medications can inhibit muscle growth and regeneration.

Have a plan that includes a warmup

Have a plan before you go to the gym or before you go for that first run to work yourself up to full movement. You’re always going to want to include three parts to every exercise session, whether it is at the gym or elsewhere: a warm up, an exercise routine, and a cool down. When you engage in physical activity of any kind, you will typically be moving your whole body. With that in mind, you will want to think about not only getting your heart rate up, but also warming up with movements that might mimic the exercises you’re about to do. A dynamic warm up is a great way to start a workout, check out this video to see what that looks like.

Target functional movements

If you are just starting out, creating a workout plan can sometimes feel overwhelming. So many exercises, which ones should I do? With an eye towards maximizing benefit, but also preventing injury, performing functional movements (i.e., movement that is similar to things that we humans need to do on the daily, like sit down and stand back up) are a good place to start. If you’re headed to the gym, an easy exercise plan could be 4 simple exercises: a squatting or lunging exercise, a pushing exercise, a pulling exercise, and a rotational exercise. Here’s a sample of what that could look like:

Squats Using a Chair (squatting exercise) or Modified Back Lunge (lunging exercise)

Resistance Band Rows (pulling exercise)

Push Ups (pushing exercise)

Trunk Twists (rotational exercise)

Start with between 1 and 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions of each exercise. If you’re just getting started and have never worked out before, choose 1 set of 10 repetitions of each exercise and progress from there. This can be done 2-3 times per week with a day of rest in between.

Alternatively, if you’re going for that first run, a slow and simple plan that has an end goal like a 5K race in 2-3 months is a great place to start. There are many “Couch to 5K” plans out there and they all start with a walk/run combination. After your dynamic warm up start with walking for 1-2 minutes and then alternate between jogging for 30 seconds and then walking for 1 minute for no more than one mile. If you find 30 seconds is a bit much for your run, take it down to 20 seconds. I know it’s difficult, but don’t worry what others are doing around you, make the run or workout tailored for you and you only.

Start your program running between 2-3 times per week and slowly increase the time you’re running, decease the time you’re walking, and increase the distance you’re going.

Stretch

Finally, don’t forget about that third part of any routine: the cool down. Although it might take a little extra time, it’s really important to take some time to stretch. After your workout or your run don’t just crash on the couch and watch TV or sit back at your desk and pick back up with work. Cooling down first will help reduce muscle soreness and can improve venous return, or prevent blood from pooling in your lower extremities. Static stretching is a great way to cool down after any exercise, check out this video for some stretching tips:

At Beacon Physical Therapy, we want to help you live a happy, healthy life – that includes regular exercise. If you are having an issue or want some help thinking through how to increase your exercise, make an appointment today. We’d love to meet you and help you find ways to keep doing what you love.