January brings about a sense of change and self improvement resulting in many of us making New Years resolutions. According to yougov.co.uk survey, 57% of resolutions for 2023 were health based but by the end of the year less than 30% of people actually stuck to them.
One of the biggest problems is that people make goals that are too much of a change, too drastic and ultimately unachievable. This leads to them not being sustainable and dropout occurs by February typically down to injury.
When people start a new exercise regime they often go too hard too soon. Rather than building up to a 5km run, they just go out and pound the pavements. Often they start their weightlifting with the personal best they hit 6 months ago.
Very quickly your muscles and tendons that are not used to this high volume of activity and load suddenly wear out pretty quickly and that annoying tendon injury re-occurs. Anyone who has suffered shin splints will know exactly what I am referring to!
So here are our top tips to starting your new year exercise resolutions:
1) Less is more in the long run. 2-3 sessions a week for the first month is a good place to start. It's achievable to fit into your schedule and will allow you to safely build up your stamina to your new exercise regime. If you want to do more, add another session after each month.
2) Recovery is just as important as training. 2 rest days per week are essential for your immune system to repair your body. This includes mobility work. Start your sessions with your mobility work so you prepare your body for the activity ahead and it means you can't just shelf it at the end of your session as you're running out of time!
3) Drink more water! Hydrate well before, during and after exercise. Even on a day when you'e not exercising, get yourself a water bottle that sits on your desk and make sure you drink one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
4) Sleep is one of the most important factors to health that gets ignored. We need 7-8 hours every night to keep our brains, body and immune system functioning well. So turn off screens 30-60 minutes before bedtime, make sure the room is dark and plan a consistent time to go to bed to help form good habits.
5) Plan. If time seems to be a barrier to you sticking to your exercise plan, schedule it in your diary like you would a zoom meeting. Once it's there it becomes a non-negotiable.
6) If you get any niggles, or something feels off don't hesitate to contact us! Leaving something in the hope it goes away is typically something that turns into an injury that stops you from achieving your goals. We are here for assessment of new injuries, treatments of old and even just some simple, free advice to help you along your way.
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