There is an age old saying that I live by “if you stay ready, then you don’t have to get ready.” This for me outlines why I continue to learn, continue to train, and continue to avoid monotony. This saying is also what will prevent injury in life when we must perform an unusual action that our body does not usually perform. If you are walking down a path and a bear jumps out, you will need to change direction quickly and run. If you do not train these movements, you may not be ready to perform when you need it. Preventing injury and maintaining mobility is the focus of fitness but how do we prevent pain when starting a new workout regimen?
If you have fallen into a less active cycle and realized you're not ready for the potential bear attack, then you probably want to start a workout plan. This plan will begin with aches and pains, and this may deter you from continuing. You know that if you continue then eventually it will get easier but how long will that be? The pain and discomfort from starting is the hardest hurdle to overcome for someone who is new to working out. The best way to reduce the pain and discomfort is from properly warming up and properly cooling down/ rest.
The need to warm up is often lost and overlooked. I have heard that I will warm up during the exercises or even that it takes too long to perform the warm-ups. Newtons first law states that an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. Our muscles and extremities are at rest before a workout and essentially need to be acted upon to get “going.” If you do not properly warm up or prepare your body for more intense activity, then injury will occur.
The injuries can be small tears or pulls that cause a sore feeling and discomfort. The injuries could be worse but more than likely your body will adapt to the action needed but before it was “warmed up” the stabilizers and prime movers were not ready to take on the stress of the exercise. Slowly performing proper warmups allows our body to send additional energy and lubrication to prepare us for more rigorous movements. This is what prevents unnecessary injuries. This also allows the proper blood flow to reduce burn out from a quick lactate acid influx. Essentially, warming up will allow us to work out longer.
If you skip the warmup then you are putting more stress on your body than needed. You can tear or pull small muscles and tendons that will cause you to be uncomfortable during the workout or worse. You may cause pain that prevents you from immediately finishing the plan or possibly have a delayed reaction and be immobile the next day. All of this can be prevented by simply taking a few minutes to properly dynamically warm up your body to slightly increase your heart rate and give that initial warning to your system that you will soon begin harder activities. The small injuries will be prevented once you are conditioned and your body adapted to your needs so that when the bear jumps out of nowhere, you are always ready. Until you hit that level of fitness, you need to warm up. If you were already there then you would not have pain or discomfort from starting a new plan.
Performing a cool down is almost like pulling teeth. After a workout, getting the client to stay and properly perform a cool down is very hard because they do not feel like they need to. You will feel good because you finished a hard work out and do not want to take away more time performing a proper cool down. Just like the warmup warned the body before more activity, the cool down lets it know to calm back down. This cool down allows the body to begin recovery immediately and send the recovery nutrients to the muscles after a workout. This prevents delayed onset muscles soreness (DOMS) and helps build muscle faster when properly recovered. Without the cool down, your body will stay in a state of action continuously sending energy to the muscles until finally it realizes you're done. Then it will begin to recover.
The recovery does not take long and allows you to come down from the workout and stretch out the muscle groups used. Stretching helps to pull out the lactate acid, reducing soreness and promoting growth. Essentially the cool down will help prevent you from waking up sore to continue and grow your muscles faster so you feel better and complete your goals quicker. There is no downside, but people still avoid the cool downs. I have heard “I will stretch in the shower” after a workout but I believe this never happens. After we leave the gym or workout area, we come down and get tired and afterwards additional effort is so much harder. Just take the few extra minutes after the workout and properly cool down.
Starting a new fitness plan can be exciting and nerve racking all at once. The easiest way to view this is as a total journey. Spend just as long to plan the warmup and cool down as the main exercises. The whole journey needs to include all aspects to avoid injuries and pain. Properly conducting a well-rounded plan is key to reducing the small pains. Reducing stress is key to maintaining a fitness path. The three-week mark is when most people quit because of the soreness without maximum results. Push past this and make it easier while focusing on a proper warm up/ cool down plan. Subscribe to receive notifications every time I post a new blog, and we will continue to find the path to a healthier life together. Check out my pre-made fitness plans to begin a journey on your time with the assistant of a certified personal trainer. Thank you for reading, as always, stay happy and helpful!
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