An effective exercise regime is a key to a healthy lifestyle, and there are many activities to try. Unless you take the right precautions, working out can easily lead to an injury, which can be incredibly frustrating. To help you avoid injuries while exercising, focus on these five tips.

1 . A proper warm-up

Never skip on your warm-up session before you work out. If your muscles are cold, and you start a vigorous workout, there’s more chance that you’ll tear a muscle. It’s advised that you spend at least 10 minutes warming up. Start at a low-intensity pace, practice leg lifts, jumping jacks, and any dynamic stretches that get your body moving.

2. Set achievable goals

When you’re devising your workout routine, it’s important to set achievable exercise goals. Over-exerting yourself could leave you with an injury. The key is to develop your skills and stamina at a gradual pace. Once you’ve achieved your initial goals, you can always set yourself new challenges. Your goals might refer to certain activities, or duration of exercise, either way, it’s helpful to use goal-tracking apps.

3. Drink enough water 

It’s so important to drink enough water when you exercise. Unless you’re properly hydrated, you could be more likely to get injured. According to Coastal Orthopedics, ‘

Even losing just 1% of your body's water content to sweat when you work out can put you at risk for illness or injury’. Dehydration can affect your muscles and joints in many ways, including:

• Causes cramps when exercising: To ensure healthy muscle contractions, you need to make sure that you drink enough water.

• Leads to wear and tear of cartilage: The body needs electrolytes and water, to repair injured cartilage and generate new cells.

• Can cause friction in the joints: When the body becomes dehydrated, your cartilage doesn’t get the water it needs.

4. Ensure rest days

If you have a rigorous exercise regime every day, this can be incredibly tough on the body. It’s important to take rest days, allowing yourself time to recover. On those in-between days, yoga is a fantastic recovery exercise. It’s a great way to soothe aching muscles, particularly if you choose a gentle style of yoga. Besides injury prevention, there are plenty of benefits to a regular yoga practice:

• Yoga is a great way to boost endorphin levels.

• Can help to calm the mind and ease stress.

• Builds core strength and flexibility over time.

• Helpful to improve posture and endurance.

• There are plenty of different yoga styles to choose from.

What to do after an injury?

If you’ve obtained a fairly serious injury, or you’re unsure of the damage, you may require urgent care. However, most sports injuries can be dealt with using a straightforward rest and recovery plan. Your doctor or physio will provide you with a plan, and you should follow this carefully. Ensure that you eat plenty of healthy foods and get enough sleep, to speed up your recovery. When you return to exercise, start off with low-impact activities, such as swimming or Pilates. Thinking about injury prevention is a great way to prioritize your health.