How to stay injury-free during your next gym challenge!

With summer just around the corner, we are upon the season of gym challenges. Whether you are looking to participate in an 8-week challenge, joining gym for the first time or, returning to exercise, gym challenges can be a great way to jump back into the routine of eating well and moving!

However, there is always a risk of injury when undertaking any form of exercise. As a physiotherapist, the most common injuries I see with people starting gym challenges or commencing exercise include:

· Strains: A strain can occur when a tendon or muscle is pulled or torn. When muscle fibres overstretch, it is because the muscle fibres have exceeded their load capacity. Strains are often felt immediately in the form of a ‘cramp’, whereas delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) occurs in the days following exercise.

· Sprains: A sprain occurs when ligaments joining the ends of one bone to another are stretched or torn. Ankles, back, neck, knees, wrists and shoulders are susceptible to sprains.

· Shin splints: Shin splints are known as pain along our shin bone (tibia). This occurs often in runners, however people completing high intensity interval training (HITT) where there is a lot of jumping or sprinting involved, can also be susceptible to shin splints. Normally shin splints are the result of increased exercise volume, leg muscle weakness or incorrect footwear.

Often the common causes leading to injury may include:

· Insufficient warmup and recovery.

· Incorrect exercise form.

· Ego lifting or lifting too much too soon.

With your motivation at an all-time high to reach your fitness goals, it’s vital to remember these 5 simple tips to remain injury-free whilst hitting those challenge targets!

Don’t Skip the Warmup and Cool down:

It may be tempting to skip a warmup or even dash off as the class finishes.

Just like a car engine, we need to warm up before we start moving. The importance of a warmup prior to exercise is to slowly increase your heart rate and blood flow to your muscles prior to starting exercise.

A cool-down is aimed to provide a small window of opportunity for your body to move at a reduced intensity, bring your heart rate down and, relax your muscles after they’ve been working in a stressed state.

Wear Appropriate Footwear:

Whether you’re running, jumping or lifting weights, make sure you wear appropriate footwear!

If you are planning on doing a cardio or HITT session where you’ll be performing high impact exercise (jumping, running), shoes with good cushioning in your midfoot and ankle will provide more comfort and prevent muscle strain/injury.

Alternatively, when strength training, try and opt for a shoe with less-cushioning and has provides sufficient ankle support. Wearing highly cushioned shoes when weight training, can alter your proprioception and balance. It is best to wear shoes that provides ankle stability and is relatively flat.

Focus on Form (to start with):

“What do you mean I shoulder focus on my form Chloe? I just want to lift heavy!” Whilst deadlifting 100kg may be your goal, getting the fundamentals of a lift right may be the difference between reaching that goal and exposing yourself to injury.

As physiotherapists, we see lots of gym-related injuries which can happen because of incorrect technique. Hence, if you are joining up to class or, new to gym, please seek help or supervision from a qualified instructor, exercise physiologist or physiotherapist.

A word of caution – if you are joining a larger group fitness class where there may be limited assistance or supervision, make sure you listen to your body and stop if you feel discomfort/pain.

Take time to recover and rest!

Rest is just as important as the exercise we perform. Fatigue can impact your exercise performance, effort and exercise technique. So, although you may feel like hitting double training sessions, 5 days a week, make sure you allow optimal rest periods for your body to recover. This will reduce the risk of injury.

Don’t forget to re-fuel!

Seek nutritional advice in relation to your 8-week challenge and gym goals. Nutrition plays a vital role in your energy levels before, during and after your physical activity.

If you are a newbie to the gym or, starting an 8-week challenge soon and want to learn more about staying injury-free, please don’t hesitate to talk to one of our exercise physiologists or physiotherapists here at Embody Movement.