Are you keen to give your personal fitness levels a summer boost? Great! The lighter evenings, warmer weather and perhaps the thought of a summer holiday means many of us feel more inspired at this time of year to take part in physical exercise.
Dancing, jogging, hill-walking or family cycles with your children, any physical activity that increases your heart rate, gets you moving and your muscles working will be beneficial. Here are a few tips to ensure you can enjoy keeping up with a new regime and stay injury free:
Ease into any new activity gently. What is your current fitness level? Resist the temptation to go to intense too soon as this can lead to injury. For example, if you'd like to complete a long day-hike, start with a few shorter walks to get your body ready.
Do you have any existing injuries or movement issues? If you've a nagging knee pain or lower back ache, it's best to choose activities that aren't going to make them worse. Not sure if your ache or pain may get better or worse with activity? An MSK physio can diagnose your injury and advise on how to choose the best type of activity for your issue. You can book in to see one of our physiotherapists by clicking here and read more about our physiotherapy services here.
Workout equipment and clothing. Good footwear is essential if you are planning a long walk or jogging. Well cushioned and supportive footwear will help protect your joints against injury. The right clothing can also help you to move freely, avoid chaffing and stay cool or warm, depending on the conditions.
Pace yourself - take your time to progress! Sensible progress in duration and intensity will help protect you from picking up niggles or injuries. Consistency if key when it comes to progress, it's best not to rush and enjoy your summer activities.
Training programme. If you have the exercise bug and would like to formalise a training programme, our MSK physiotherapists can tailor a specific programme just for you. Take a read through the team's specialisms and see if we can help? Rowena's special interests are dance and Pilates, as well as treating back pain. If your sport or activity requires strength and stability, or back pain is hindering your enjoyment Rowena can help to devise a programme that will improve these areas of fitness. Matt is a keen recreational cyclist and lower limb specialist, so if you're looking to increase your cycling or a lower limb injury is preventing you completing as much sport as you'd like, a check-in with Matt to provide guidance would be beneficial.
Charlotte is our Women's Health guru and a keen runner. If you're female and enjoy running but are struggling to manage pelvic floor muscle pain or dysfunction (with symptoms such as leakage or continence issues) or would like to improve the appearance of a diastasis recti, book an appointment with Charlotte to help you.
Sarah is an ex-Team GB badminton player and continues to coach high-performance junior players. If your sport involves a racket or your sporty child has picked up an injury, an appointment with Sarah to help diagnose and advise can help.
You can make an appointment with any of our MSK and Women's Health physiotherapists by calling 01923 645320 or book online via the website, by clicking here. Feel free to email an enquiry to info@physicalhealth.co.uk and we will come back to you.
Very informative article, ! And do - able excercises