Exercise Program: Injury Avoidance

You're excited-you've developed your exercise goals, bought new clothes and shoes for your workout-you're ready!  But first, it is extremely important that when you start out that you do not overdo it in the gym.  The excitement of getting started on your goals is fantastic-but this enthusiasm can be short lived if you're a little overzealous and try to do too much, subsequently injuring yourself, which will set you back even more!

• Start out slow.  Whatever exercise program you engage in, start out slow to ensure that you are following the proper technique in order to avoid injuring yourself.  Working out too intensely or extremely can injure your body, particularly if it's not ready for it.
   
• Work up to higher endurance.  Being excited about your exercise program is fantastic motivation, but if you try to do too much too soon, then your motivation will soon dwindle-work up to exercises that require more endurance.
   
• Listen to your body.  If you are doing high impact exercises, ensure to watch for tightness to your muscles, as they can start to become painful trying to compensate for some other injury.  Don't push yourself as that is when you can cause real injury, which will prevent you from continuing your regular exercise routine.
   
• Avoid uneven ground or hard surfaces.  Either one of these will cause strain on your joints.  It's best to choose lower impact exercises with high endurance-it preserves your body and reduces the risk for injuries.
   
• Good Shoes.  You want to look good at the gym right?  Perhaps, but whatever you do, buy a good pair of shoes!  If you can, purchase a couple of different pairs so that you can rotate your workout shoes.  Also ensure that the shoes fit well, such as having enough arch support, not being too small or too big, etc.