A new year means time for new resolutions, and the goal at the top of most everyone’s list is getting back into shape. Here at Life Fitness Physical Therapy, our priorities are making sure that you are in perfect condition to take on your everyday challenges, whether it be walking to the grocery store or running a half marathon. To help you get started on your new fitness goal, we’ve put together some tips to help with your weight loss:
Nutrition and hydration: Proper nutrition and hydration are essential to meeting your weight loss goals. While coffee and comfort foods may sound appealing, especially with these shorter days, longer nights, and colder temperatures, consider reaching for fruits and vegetables instead. Also think about drinking water more regularly. These changes can provide you with improved energy and the best nutrients to help limit soreness in those muscles you haven’t used in a while. They can also help facilitate increased fat burn.
Warm up to stay fit: One of the most common injuries we treat people for at physical therapy is overuse of joints and muscles. You can prevent this by incorporating a stretching routine into your workout to prevent injuries. Give yourself at least 10-15 minutes prior to the workout to warm up. You could consider walking or jogging to the gym to get some dynamic cardio into your warm up before you start your fitness regimen.
Build in some recovery time: Many people try to do too much too soon in their new weight loss regimen. If you are sore more than three days after a workout, you probably did a little too much. If it lasts for more than five days and is accompanied with swelling, you may want to consider physical therapy to heal your muscle/joint.
Having a good support system is the best thing to help you stay on track. Whether it’s a spouse, friend, family member, or even your physical therapist; sharing your goals with someone can help make you feel more accountable. It’s a good idea if you have had injuries in the past to make an appointment with your physical therapist to discuss safe return to activity and progression of your program. Even if you aren’t prone to injury, your therapist can give you some education on proper technique and form in order to keep you injury-free.
Our physical therapists at Life Fitness can help you meet your weight loss goals and get your body back in shape without injury or unintentional stress. Staying healthy and injury-free should be your primary goal as you start this New Year, and we want to help you every step of the way! To schedule an appointment and get your body back into a healthy fitness routine, give us a call today at 410-368-1026.
