Chiropractic medicine is most commonly used to improve chronic pain in your joints as well as heal an injury to your spine or muscles. Exercising is a great way to help improve your strength and mobility to prevent injuries and inflammation from happening. To ensure that you won’t suffer from injuries, here are seven fitness tips every chiropractor wants you to know.
Take Rest Days
Knowing when to take rest days is very important. Working out your body seven days a week prevents your muscles from recovering, hindering any progress you’re looking to make in strengthening your body. Putting too much strain on your joints without rest is guaranteed to lead to injury. Make sure you are checking in with your body regularly for any aches and pains that need to be addressed. Incorporating a few rest days per week will, in the long run, allow your body to get stronger.
Don’t Follow Others
It’s easy to follow the workouts and routines of other people when you don’t know where to start. However, everyone has different goals, and following their workout routines might not lead to the results you want or you could end up hurting yourself. Start by talking to your chiropractor regarding which exercises will work best for you and expand from there.
Don’t do the Same Old Exercises
Try to avoid doing the same exercises over and over again. While you’ll see progress in the beginning, that progress will quickly plateau as your muscles grow used to them. In addition, if you’re using the wrong technique while doing the same workouts, you’ll increase your likelihood of getting injured.
Exercise All Muscle Groups
Working your smaller muscle groups are just as important as exercising larger muscle groups like the chest (pectoralis), biceps and glutes. Not working on smaller muscles will negatively impact your overall workout and future progress, possibly resulting in an injury. And don’t forget your core! It is very important for spinal stability and prevention of injuries to have a strong core.
Stay Hydrated
Hydrating your body before and after training is essential to speed up the healing process. As the human body is made of almost 80% water and exercise will deplete your stores, it is important to replenish fluids before dehydration sets in. Depending on what type of exercise you are doing will dictate how much additional daily water you will need. An electrolyte drink may also be recommended to you for high-intensity activities.
Eat Well to Recover Properly
A clean diet will go a long way in preventing injuries. This will decrease overall inflammation levels in your body which will aid in recovery and accelerate your strength and endurance training. Muscles need protein to grow stronger, ensuring adequate amounts of protein are consumed, especially on workout days is important. Vegetables contain many vitamins and minerals and are high nutritionally dense foods that are important to consume.
Stretch Before and After Training
An essential part of everybody’s workout needs to be stretching before and after training sessions. Doing so will help your muscles recover faster and prevent injuries. Yoga is a great way to get a good stretch as well as benefit from taking the time to check in with your body and see what it needs.
At The Dronyk Health Clinic, your health and wellness is our top priority. Located in Kitchener, Ontario, our services include chiropractic medicine, naturopathic treatments, acupuncture, adjustments and more. Focusing on natural healing and pain relief is the best way to get you 100% once again, give us a call or go online to book an appointment.
