If you are thinking of exercising at home, this article interests you. We are glad that you have decided to take the step to follow a training routine and lead healthy lifestyle habits, so that you are successful and that you do it the right way, we have prepared this guide with advice on things that you should take into account before, during and after your exercise routine at home.
Tips for before training:
Appropriate clothing and footwear: choose the appropriate clothing and footwear for the type of discipline you are going to practice. You must feel comfortable, they must allow you to do the movements of each exercise. If you want to wear loose clothing, you must make sure that it does not get caught in any machine or material.
The soles of the shoes must be non-slip. You can also use insoles that cushion the blows.
Warm up: warm up is a fundamental part of training, you should never skip this part. You should not train cold because you can injure yourself. While you warm up your body can prepare for exercise. You can do some exercises for 10-15 minutes.
If you are going to do a strength session, it is best to do a couple of repetitions with no weight or with very little weight, before doing each exercise.
You can include stretching in this part, but always gently, without jerking or hurting. You must stretch until you notice how it stretches the region in question.
Apply heat or cold: If your joints are hot, red or swollen, we recommend that you apply cold. On the contrary, if it hurts and they are stiff, apply heat. There are different ways to apply heat or cold: take a hot or cold shower, apply a gauze or compress, use a heat lamp, apply an ice pack…
Drink water: it is very important to be well hydrated before you start training. Water allows you to have strength to do the exercises. During exercise you should also drink fluids, in small sips, to replace those you lose while training. When you finish, you must also drink water or a drink that allows you to recover all levels.
During exercise:
Do not train in a hurry: many people think that the most important thing is to do the exercises as quickly as possible, rest as little and do the next training session as soon as possible. This training dynamic is detrimental for several reasons: if you do the exercises in a hurry, you don’t have time to control the movement, which is appropriate, which can cause an injury. Also, if you train in this way, you will not get the muscles to enter correctly. On the other hand, rest is essential, so that the body can recover and so that the muscles can grow. If you don’t let the necessary time pass and you return to training, you can suffer from overtraining, you lose efficiency when training and you can also get injured.
Also don’t be in a hurry to increase the weight you lift or the number of repetitions and/or series, the body needs time to adapt to each exercise and each weight, so you have to give it a margin. To achieve good results without injuries or scares, it is better to advance progressively.
Do not forget to breathe: it is very common to hold your breath while doing a movement, but breathing is another important element that will help us work better while doing the exercises.
Recognize the warning signs: While you train it is normal to feel some discomfort, but if while you are doing an exercise you notice a sharp or intense pain, it is best to stop doing the exercise. You may have been injured. If you notice a very strong pressure in your chest or that you feel short of breath, it may be a sign that you are training at an intensity for which your body is not yet ready, we also recommend that you consult a doctor.
Let your body adapt: after the first training sessions it is normal to feel tired, with discomfort, stiffness… Your body is starting a new routine and has to get used to it, you keep training (leaving a couple of days between each session to rest your body) and you will see that with the passing of days these sensations disappear. If they don’t, it’s best to see a doctor or physical therapist.
Make sure that the room is properly ventilated: this is important to be able to breathe well, so that many bacteria do not accumulate in the air and so that you do not get dizzy or feel unwell.
After training:
Let your body return to its normal state: after doing a training routine you should not stop suddenly, you should do gentle exercises that allow you to return to your normal heart rate, recover your breathing and relax your muscles. Also as we said before, drink water.
You also have to stretch, this helps the muscles relax, recover and prevent soreness.
