At the start of every New Year we all like to begin it well, implementing our New Year resolutions of eating healthier, drinking less and exercising more. However, if you are going to carve out a new you through blood sweat and tears in 2009, its worth knowing how best to achieve optimum results.
Joining a gym is a great way to get in shape. Gyms employ well trained instructors who can create a programme tailored to your exact needs and requirements. The gym staff will also be on hand to demonstrate how to use the equipment correctly. Using the equipment incorrectly can lead to injury, which can keep you from your workout for weeks.
Warm ups and cool downs at the start and end of your work out are extremely important. Warming up your body, muscles and joints prepares your body for the workout you are about to put it though. Skipping on your warm can lead to injuries of varying degrees. Greg Rothman, personal trainer with a degree in Physical Therapy from Columbia University, describes the failure to warm up like imaging an elastic band that has been in the freezer. When that band is pulled or stretched it snaps. However, pulling an elastic band that has been left out in the sun and is ‘warmed up’ will stretch much further and much more easily.
Cool downs are equally important as it brings your heart rate back down to its normal rate after a workout. Stretching throughout your cool down can also prove to be extremely beneficial as it further cements the work you have carried out on your muscles.
During your workout it is important to know your own body and its limits. Do not exceed your limit, or attempt to compete with the gym junkies. This will only ever result in you injuring yourself and your ego. If you feel pain during your workout listen to your body it is telling you to stop!
Some slight minor pain after a strenuous work out is perfectly normal, you have simply worked out the muscles that are aching. However, it is important to rest your body and its muscles after the work out and allow it to fully recover before you put it through another workout, otherwise, it may lead to further much more serious injury.
Finally it is important to provide your body with the fuel it will require in order to work out successfully. Therefore stock up on plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and drinks lots of fluids, especially a few hours prior to a work out in order to prepare your body for the fluid it will lose throughout your work out.
