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Safety and effectiveness

Safety and effectiveness

Because it’s a new year, many people embark on activities that they are either not mentally or physically prepared for or are doing exercise in a potentially unsafe manner with an increased risk or injury.

Some are also performing their chosen exercise ineffectively. Here I will try and help ensure that you are not going to give up your fitness pursuit and/or not going to injure yourself in the process.

Take note of your physical condition

Think of it this way. When we are born we can’t move for the first six or so months, then we start crawling between 9-12 months, start walking until eventually building up to walk, run, etc.

My point here is that if you have been inactive, then don’t do anything extreme. Take your time and stay within your limits and build up gradually. Muscles, ligaments and tendons take time to grow and adapt, not to mention your heart and lungs. Take it slow!

Heart rate monitors

As a personal trainer, I have always insisted on the use of a heart rate monitor with my clients and there are many reasons for this, here are two:

We all know the simple and age-old method of estimating someone’s maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) and from that figure working out a heart rate range in which you should be working out.

This can be from as low as 50 per cent for someone overweight, injured, old or new to exercise. Then you can work up to as high as 80-95 per cent depending on your goals, fitness level or whether the exercise is largely aerobic or anaerobic. Knowing what heart rate to strive for is imperative for safety and to get the most out of your workout.

By having your heart rate monitored throughout your workout gives you the ability to understand the rate of perceived exertion (RPE). When you marry this with your feeling of how hard or easy you are working, you can maximise the intensity of the session.

Exercise technique

Seeing novices or poorly-trained gym users going about the gym left to their own devices is scary sometimes. As a trainer I see so many people causing long-term damage to their muscles, tendons, ligaments, posture and their bodies overall.

All I can suggest is please see a specialist for a program specific to your needs.

For a more information or if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Justin Moran

[email protected]

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