Are you feeling refreshed and ready to start a new year filled with healthy habits, your New Year’s Resolution 2025 list, and a new workout routine? Whether you feel like shedding some extra holiday pounds, gaining strength, or embracing an overall healthy lifestyle, the new year is always the perfect opportunity to establish a new fitness routine. Embarking on a new workout routine, especially if you haven’t been active, can often lead to orthopedic issues if it isn’t planned out and approached gradually. These are a few tips we’ve gathered on how to start healthy habits while prioritizing orthopedic safety.
New Year’s Resolution 2025 with Safety in Mind
As you plan out your new routine, it is important to understand where your body is currently. Take into consideration factors like your age, previous injuries, and your overall fitness level. This should help form your new routine. If you have a history of orthopedic injuries, joint pain, or arthritis, you should consider consulting with your doctor or an orthopedic specialist. Your doctor may have suggestions for starting a new workout routine safely.
Choosing the Right Activities for You
Choose an activity or workout that fits within the factors listed above. Selecting the proper workouts for your current fitness level is important for minimizing the risk of an injury.
Low-impact activities are great for beginners or someone just getting back into fitness. Activities such as swimming, cycling, or walking are great low-impact activities. Low-impact workouts reduce stress on the joints while still promoting cardiovascular health and strengthening muscles. Additionally, incorporating strength training with proper form can support and stabilize your joints.
Importance of Warming Up and Cooling Down
Warming up before a workout is essential to preventing injuries. A good warm-up routine does wonders for preventing injuries and prepares your body for more intense activity. It gets your blood flowing, raises your muscle temperature, and increases your breathing rate. Warming up gives your body time to adjust to the demands of exercise. Warming up will also help improve your overall performance and get you closer to seeing the results you want out of your workout.
Cooling down post-exercise is equally important. Gradually lowering your heart rate helps your body return to its normal state without causing undue stress. Stretching after workouts can improve flexibility and aid in muscle recovery.
Listen to Your Body
During a workout, it is important to listen to your body. If you experience any pain while performing an exercise, stop immediately. Distinguishing between discomfort from exertion and actual pain is important to your workout journey. Pushing through pain can lead to serious injuries, setting back your fitness goals. Remember, it’s better to take a break and allow your body to recover than to risk a long-term setback.
Gradual Progression
Take a gradual approach when it comes to increasing your workout intensity. Sudden increases in duration, frequency, or intensity can overwhelm your muscles and joints, leading to injury.
Schedule Rest and Recovery Days
Working out breaks down your muscle tissue, causing microscopic tears. Rest days are your body’s opportunity to allow your muscles, nerves, bones, and connective tissue time to rebuild. If you’re working out every day and not seeing improvements, this could be because you’re not giving your body time to recuperate and rebuild. By over-exhausting your body and not having rest days, you could struggle to meet your fitness goals and put yourself at an increased risk of injury.
Starting a new fitness regime in the New Year can be an exciting journey toward overall better health. It is important to keep orthopedic safety in mind to avoid injury setbacks along the way. By following these tips, you can establish healthy habits that will last for years to come. So, set your goals, stay motivated, and prioritize safety as you stride into the New Year!
OrthoManhattan is now part of Castle Connolly’s Practice Centers of Excellence program. The Centers of Excellence program showcases select practices within the Castle Connolly database to share information on their services and recognitions to better inform patients and caregivers when making treatment decisions. This partnership makes it easier for patients to find Top Doctors affiliated with leading institutions based on healthcare criteria important to them. Learn more about the Castle Connolly Centers of Excellence.