Have you ever strained or torn something when going about your daily business? A simple strain, mild tear, shin splints, general soreness, overall aches and pains, etc. You know the drill. Any injury can be a wild inconvenience depending on the severity, especially those that come from regular activity and exercise, as they’ll likely affect your daily routine. Knowing how to avoid these sorts of common injuries is as essential as knowing how to recover from them, so let’s learn some tips and tricks together.
Start Stretching, Warming Up, and Cooling Down
We get it – sometimes it seems like stretching doesn’t do much, like when you’re merely going on a walk or a casual bike ride. Yet, as you grow older, the more critical it is to warm up the muscles and joints. You can’t just hop out of bed like you used to, so why would working out be any different? Regardless of the exercise difficulty in question, you should build a warmup and cooldown into your fitness regime, especially if you’re hoping to prevent and reduce exercise-related injuries.
Stretching is even more vital if you’re mostly sedentary at home, at work, or both. There are several videos with different types of stretches, usually including whole-body yoga poses like downward dog and child’s pose, but this article features additional everyday stretches you should implement into your routine. If working from home leaves you feeling tight and wound up, check out this article for some stretches that utilize your desk setup.
These things will ease your body into exercise – rather than jolting it to activity – followed by immediate and complete rest, which in turn will prevent and reduce your likelihood of strain.
Don’t Neglect Nutrition or Hydration
If you’re eating right and treating your body well, you’ll be better prepared against exercise injuries by default. Proper nutrition and hydration strengthen everything inside out, from your bones and joints to your muscles and skin. This is key when exercising in all sorts of conditions but especially hot, humid weather.
According to VeryWellFit, you unsurprisingly sweat more when the temperature's hot, especially if you're working or exercising outdoors. Drinking water helps replenish the fluids lost by excessive sweating according to this document on dehydration. If you don't get enough water, you may become dehydrated, and the combination of hot temperatures and dehydration can lead to serious heat-related illnesses.
Don’t Push or Overwork Yourself
Exercise-related injuries often occur when someone pushes themselves too far in one way or another. This could be lifting a weight that’s just a bit too heavy, walking, biking, or jogging an extra few miles when you’re already wiped, or working through the pain when really, you’re compromising your ability to strengthen, repair, and recover.
You must listen to your body, but more than that, you must understand what your body is telling you. Pain doesn’t always mean growth, and the goal shouldn’t be jelly legs or being completely out of breath. You’ll know if you’ve pushed yourself too hard if you’re achy or sore for days on end and have a hard time bouncing back. Your body needs the proper tools to repair itself, even with casual workouts, so regardless of what your goals are, listen to your body to prevent and avoid this sort of damage.
Wear the Right Stuff – Wear SAS Walking Shoes
Comfortable walking shoes, stretchy athleisure, things that fit right without being too baggy or too tight – that’s what matters here. Shoes are a big part of exercise injuries. Often, people don’t truly know what to look for in footwear. Are you wearing the right size or does your foot wiggle around? Does it feel like your foot has absolutely no room to breathe? There’s no way you have the most comfortable walking shoes if either of those sensations applies to you.
That’s what’s great about SAS walking shoes.
They’re built with comfort and safety first but also look good and hold up. From everyday exercise and days at the beach to every-so-often formal events, there’s a pair of SAS shoes that will perfectly fit your needs. You can wear comfortable walking shoes for more than exercise, too. From traveling to everyday errands, wearing the most comfortable walking shoes will make being on your feet something easy, not something you dread.