We see it every year in the fitness industry- this is the time when Gym memberships are signed and we promise ourselves that this year will be different.
We all lead extremely busy lives, so when we designate our 45-60 mins to exercise we want to make sure we get the most bang for our time. We push ourselves during this allocated time going to HIIT classes, yoga, crossfit, bootcamps and other forms of exercise where we are promised a high intensity, calorie burning, muscle toning and fun workout. We may not know exactly what we are doing or what we should do but we figure that doing something is better than nothing. Right?
We jump into these workouts that have been recommended to us by our friends and colleagues and push ourselves following along to what the instructor is shouting to the group of 30 + group class. We are confident that the instructor would not have us do something that would injure us and believe me, this is not the intention of the instructor! Unfortunately when the classes are so big, one instructor does not have the capacity to watch the form and give modifications to each person in the class.
If we don’t know where are individual weakness are, we are unable to modify the exercise ourself and say, ‘maybe I should not do that many pushups today, my elbow and shoulder were a little sore from the last time I pushed myself.’ Or maybe you are unsure if you have the right form or even if the right muscles are turning on to be able to perform a proper squat or deadlift…Maybe we are tight in certain muscles or too mobile in others.
My advice to most people is not to stop the exercises that you enjoy, but rather get more educated on your body- know better what muscles YOU should focus on strengthening and where your weakness lie. (believe me – we all have them). Perhaps posture is an area that needs to be worked on to balance out the long hours of siting at a desk?
I can tell you that the number of injuries from improper exercise is extremely high. Don’t wait until you have to stop exercising due to injury, focus on INJURY PREVENTION!
For more information on how a Physiotherapy Assessment can be used for Injury Prevention and Postural Correction. Get in touch! One of our Physiotherapist would be happy to provide you with a Complimentary Consultation at either of our locations in Downtown Oakville or Downtown Toronto!