If since the summer has passed you have let your fitness routine slip, or if you never bothered exercising at all, now might be the time to get up and moving to get you ready for the Christmas party and all of that food you’ll be putting away! Exercise is an important part of our life and it keeps us healthy, and if we don’t do it right we can hurt ourselves. Here are some of our top tips to avoid injury when exercising.

Start off slow

It can be easy to have tons of motivation in you first week of fitness and this can lead you to try and exercise every single day and for hours and hours. But going from nothing to everything is a big risk to the body and this can really hurt your muscles and joints. You are safer off starting slow with 1-2 days per week and then move it up as you get used to your own pace and routine.

Don’t push your limits too hard

Exercise should never hurt. No matter what you might think, sports injuries are often caused by people who push too hard and don’t pay attention to sharp pains and discomfort. If you are running and your leg starts to hurt you, you need to stop. Don’t push your body Tom far because this is where you can end up with dull joints and snapped tendons.

Use a foam roller

A foam roller will become your new best friend when you start working out and it will be a sensation which feels amazing after a long workout. If you are always struggling with feeling tight and achy after workouts, get yourself a foam roller and roll your body over it to almost tenderize your muscles and increase circulation to the body while loosening any knots. It is like having your own little massage after a workout and it is honestly a huge part of avoiding injury and aiding recovery.

Stretch out

Yoga, Pilates, stretching… all of these things can do wonders for the body and you will be surprised at what a difference it makes to your performance when working out. Stretching your body is important because it lengthens your muscles gradually and it gets them warmed up ready for a workout. It means that rather than starting to workout with short and tight muscles you end up with long ones which are able to do much more movement right away.

Cool down

Cooling down after a workout is just as important and warming up, and you need to make sure you take at least 5 minutes to cool down after a long session. Our body will be exhausted when we finish a workout and it is important to make sure that it is able to relax and recoup. Give your body a few gentle stretches and take some deep breaths to allow oxygen to flow. This will make sure that you don’t suffer from stiffness and that you recover before your next workout.