Safety and Smart Training during physical fitness

Before you begin an exercise program, ask your physician to give you a checkup. Your doctor can advise you to avoid or participate in activities based on your current health and history. Be sure to stay within your limits. If you are injured while exercising, remember to P-R-I-C-E your recovery. P Protect—Protect the injured area from further injury. You can wrap it lightly in an elastic bandage or wear a padded brace. Do not tightly or heavily tape up an injury, as good circulation is important to healing.

 Rest—Rest the injured area. Use a sling, cane, brace, or crutch as necessary to

take your weight and decrease activity off the affected body part. Keep the joint

or muscle as inactive as possible.

I Ice—Apply ice to the injured area for five to 15 minutes. Wrap several handfuls

of crushed ice in a towel and hold it on and around the injured area. Many people

instinctively try to soak an injury in warm water, and while this increases blood

flow to the injury, it does not ease the inflammation and swelling.

C Compression—Wrap an elastic bandage around the ice to compress the injured area

lightly—but not enough to cut off circulation to the injured area. After the cold

compress, wrap the affected area lightly in an elastic bandage or use a flexible brace.

Don’t wrap any injury too tightly, as this will cut off good circulation to the injury.

E Elevation—Raise the affected area slightly to reduce swelling and inflammation.

In addition to P-R-I-C-E, you can talk to your doctor about using anti-inflammatory

medication as needed, such as aspirin, acetaminophen, or ibuprofen. You should check to

see if you have allergies to these drugs before use. Under no circumstances should you take

them while drinking alcohol.

Smart Training You live in your skin and know how your body feels and works best. That is why you should take responsibility for managing your own fitness-training program. Knowing your limits and capabilities is key to setting goals for physical fitness improvement. Smart training means observing some well-recognized guidelines: • Progression—As you have seen, increasing intensity and/or duration by 10 percent at regular intervals is a good idea. • Warm-up—Always take a few minutes to warm up your muscles to reduce your chances of injury. Your warm-up should include some running in place or slow jogging, stretching, and calisthenics. It should last five to seven minutes and should occur just before the CR or muscular endurance and strength part of the workout. • Stretching—Critical to improving your flexibility, stretching increases your overall fitness and reduces the chance of muscle injury. After exercising, you should cool down by walking and stretching until your heartbeat reaches 100 bpm and heavy sweating stops. • Mechanics—Concentrate on your form when exercising. Maintain intensity levels, but don’t let your form suffer. You will not improve by doing exercises or repetitions incorrectly—you only increase your chances of injury. • Healthy Diet—You’ve heard that “You are what you eat.” Food is your source of strength and energy. What you eat will dramatically affect your ability to maintain and improve your overall fitness.