From Desk to Dumbbells: A Beginner's Guide to Fitness

With the Winter Olympics coming up, it’s hard not to feel inspired to lace up your sneakers—or maybe your skates—and chase your own gold medal goals. But if your current routine looks more like couch curling than cross-country skiing, starting a new fitness journey can feel daunting. The secret to success? Listen to your body, pace yourself and prioritize recovery. Risks come with any new activity, but staying in tune with your limits can help you avoid an unplanned trip to the doctor’s office. To keep you injury-free, Nathan Redington, PT, shares eight winning tips for starting a workout plan that sticks.

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8 tips to prevent sports injuries:

1. Assess your baseline comfort: If you have knee pain getting up from a chair, it’s probably not wise to grind through a 5K run with that same knee pain. Pain inhibits muscle recruitment; you won't reach peak strength when you’re in discomfort.
2. Plan out goals and work backward: Determine your fitness objectives. Are you focusing on exercising to reduce pain, build a community, manage stress, get stronger or improve your endurance?
3. Tailor your exercise routine: Align your workouts with your goals. Exercising to build strength requires a different strategy than training for a marathon.
4. Structure in adequate rest: Sleep seven to nine hours per night; a two-hour reduction in sleep equals 20% less strength available. Add adequate rest between exercise sets, such as two to three minutes for strength-building exercises.
5. Warm-up: A warm-up should improve the body’s sensation of comfort and the efficiency of the activity. Different people respond to different techniques; some love foam rolling, while others prefer stretching. After warming up, reassess if those aches and pains have lessened. Perform light movements like the task you will be doing; for example, if you are running 16 miles, start with a slower jog to loosen up.
6. Take breaks as needed: Always listen to your body when starting any new exercise. If you start feeling highly fatigued or exhausted, slow down and rest, then pick back up. When periods of exhaustion become more frequent, your body might be telling you it's time to stop. You can always stretch during rest periods.
7. Monitor workout volume: Almost all injuries occur due to too much intensity, for too long, and with not enough recovery. Gauge how you feel every three days. If the trend is consistently worsening, you might be on your way to an overuse injury.
8. Build a community: Most people do not enjoy exercising alone for prolonged periods. Find a friend, family member, training partner, or even a physical therapist to help keep you accountable and make the experience fun.

Don’t let persistent pain stop you from doing the activities you love. Overlake’s Sports Medicine and Spine program can help you recover, regain movement, reduce pain and get back to living an active lifestyle.