Before one starts going on fitness training, one must give stretching and warm-up exercises their due importance.
The purpose of this is to primarily avoid getting any muscle injuries and, of course, to achieve enhanced productivity when training.
A few important precautionary tips and measures should also be heeded when performing fitness exercises.
Below are a number of these measures.
Before and after a workout, one must make it a habit to do a little stretching to enhance flexibility and avoid muscle injuries.
The importance of stretching before a workout is already known and practiced widely by most people, but only a few individuals actually know that stretching after a workout, when the muscles remain warm enough, can enhance one's flexibility.
Another way to increase this is to try holding your stretching position up to a little over a minute.
When in a stretching position, do not immediately revert back to your lax position.
This habit of others is called bouncing and causes a strain or may even damage your muscles and joints.
As much as possible, always revert back to a lax position as slowly and as gradually as you can, then work your way up to the harder stretching stances in a slow and uniform manner.
Warm up and stretch all of the muscle groups.
Do not ever neglect to stretch a certain muscle group, like the neck.
And remember that when working out, you are using up all of the muscles in your body, and stress in a single certain muscle group may cause severe injuries.
Do not work out according to the level and range of strength of other people.
It is never a good idea to push yourself to do activities that are quite obviously way beyond your physical capacity.
If you wish to increase your flexibility and limits, then do it slowly and always gradually.
Try to rest between stations and sets.
Always ensure that you give your body ample time to recover energy.
It is also advisable to avoid working out the same kind of muscle group for two consecutive days.
Our muscles actually grow when it is in a rested state, and not during a workout.
Strengthen your heart by doing aerobic or cardiovascular exercises.
These activities rely on oxygen as fuel; examples of it are swimming, jumping rope, or running.
Listen to a little music when working out.
When you are listening to music, you tend to stretch your workout for a longer time because you are enjoying your own mix of songs, thereby increasing your intensity.