Dmelite

    5 Ways to enjoy exercise (and not get hurt)

    Enjoying exercise without putting yourself through pain is important, as we want you to be able to keep the habit up for your long term physical (and mental) health 🔴

    Here are 5 tips on preventing injury and feeling as good as possible when you train 😃

     

    #1

     

    Nothing is mandatory 

     

    It’s easy to think…

     

    “I want to get fit and lose weight so I need to start running”

     

    Not true

     

    You don’t need to run to get the results you want, only run if you enjoy running.

     

    Same goes for lifting heavy weights, you don’t have to lift heavy unless it’s required to lift heavy.

     

    You don’t have to bench press if it hurts your shoulders. You can go with Dumbbells if you feel better doing it that way.

     

    You don’t have to squat if it gives you knee pain.

     

    These exercises or modalities of exercise are only there as part of a huge menu you can choose from to get to where you want to be.

     

    Choose wisely and choose what you enjoy or you won’t keep it up (or be able to) anyway.

     

    #2

     

    Technique/tension/movement over Reps.

     

    Sure it’s great to hit X amount of reps or complete a higher intensity based session now and again…but not too often. Instead of getting to X amount of reps as fast as you can, what’s more important for us is HOW you get there. Slowing yourself down and controlling tempo/tension is so underrated.

     

    Increasing weight isn’t always a marker you’re improving or getting stronger, it’s how you do it – technique, holding tension and how the movement looks rather than just getting there by any means will always serve you better over time.

     

    Yes, use a weight the gives your muscles the stimulus it needs…but always think quality within every rep. If the goal is 8 reps but you can do a better quality 6…opt for the 6.

     

    Think INTENTION of the exercise rather than ATTENTION (how you look doing it)

     

    #3

     

    Don’t train through pain 

     

    “I will just crack on”

     

    No… please don’t, if it hurts…listen to your body and adapt.

     

    Something we are big on with members is personalisation & ensuring they don’t just do something to fit in or because everyone else is doing it.

     

    You MUST do what’s best for you…your body and health is there for the long term. Your ego and stubbornness can wait. It’s our job to guide you closer to where you want to be, and still be able to live life as pain free as possible.

     

    Again, it’s not always about what you do. Yeah we love variety in the gym and to make workouts as unique and enjoyable as possible…but the goal is to get what you need for that workout both physically and mentally.  You might like to do what looks cool but it doesn’t matter what you used to be able to do and what you could lift in your early 20s…your body changes over time, so you must improvise along the way.

     

    #4

     

    You don’t need to feel sore all the time and/or equating pain and sweat to a good workout. 

     

    “It feels like I’ve done something”

     

    Something I still love personally (as do some members) is the ‘feel’ of knowing you’ve pushed yourself and done a hard workout. Working out to failure is fun now and again but not all of the time.

     

    Soreness DOES NOT equate to progress. And let’s be honest yeah it’s fine to feel like that when you first start as your body is adapting to something new and you kind of expect it Or if training regular the odd time here and there its cool. But you don’t want to be in agony and struggle to get in and out of the car for the rest of your days, do you?!

     

    We live stressful lives and at the end of the day, exercise is a stressor on the body. We don’t always eat/sleep as well as we can.

     

    We train on Mondays after a few drinks and a night out at the weekend. Your body isn’t always in the best position to attack a brutal workout. So be mindful of that when you feel like putting yourself through a tough workout after a night with little sleep, a hard day at work or after a weekend of too much food and booze.

     

    If working out is to be a long term thing and part of your life…don’t think that you have to be in agony all day/every day to get there. You won’t want to keep that up especially if you have kids to chase around when you get home!

     

    #5

     

    Think Prevention over cure 

     

    A target I like to use with members is 10 minutes of mobility work for every 10 years you have been alive, per week.

     

    We have stand alone stretch sessions at weekends for members to help with this but we also ensure we do 5-10 minutes of stretching and mobility within every session. Not only are we training with intent, but also giving ourself the best chance to move more efficient and with less pain. Sure, injuries will always happens and I/we are not exempt from that but we do ensure we help prevent pain rather than always trying to cure it and play catch up.

     

    Follow those 5 tips and not only will you get fitter and stronger…how you get there will be way more enjoyable and less painful.

     

    Hope this helps

    Any questions, let me know

    Dan

    About the Author lisa

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