Keys to Kicking Off an Injury-Free Exercise Routine

One of the most important investments you can make in ensuring an injury-free fitness plan is a good pair of exercise shoes. Depending on your choice of activity, footwear can make all the difference. If you are a walker or runner, experts recommend replacing running shoes every 300 to 500 miles or six to eight months, whichever comes first. The more use your shoes get, the more the cushioning is decreased, leading to increased impact being absorbed in your joints and bones.

The glorious spring and summer days are tempting. Even if you are feeling great, it’s easy to hit it too hard at first. That’s when overuse injuries like shin splints, stress fractures, tendinitis or soreness can derail your routine.

One of the easiest and most important steps to take to reduce the risk of injury is warming up. Ideally the warmup period should last about 10 – 15 minutes and should be specific to the chosen physical activity. Warmups increase blood flow to your muscles and increases the body temperature and heart rate. In addition, a warmup improves range of motion. A simple warmup routine that is easy to remember is best.

These may look different for different people, depending on fitness level, but it is important for everyone to incorporate rest into their routine. Rest days allow your body and mind time to recover. Here are a few reasons why everyone should take a rest day:

1. Helps you get stronger. Every time you work out you create microscopic tears in your muscle tissue. When you rest, the muscles start to heal and grow back stronger.
2. Helps you avoid injury. Working out when tired may cause you to have bad form, trip or stumble. Overuse also causes stress and strain on the body, and doesn’t allow time for the body to repair itself.
3. Reduces burnout or overtraining syndrome. Your central nervous system includes the sympathetic nervous system, which triggers fight or flight mode, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps calm your body down again. Not taking the time to rest and recover creates a constant stress that can mess with the system’s natural responses, which can make you feel tired.
4. Builds long-term habits. Rest days help make scheduling exercise more flexible. Having flexibility can help make your routine more sustainable, so you can build your workouts around your life, rather than the other way around.

For some people, active recovery – a very gentle, low-impact exercise - is a great option. That can look like walking the dog or stretching. Sleep is another important factor. According to the National Institutes of Health, sleep loss and/or poor sleep quality can impair muscular strength, speed, and other aspects of physical performance.