Summer is the perfect time to try and either get more active, or keep activity going. There are so many physical and mental benefits to doing regular exercise – whether its a stroll in your local park, working hard in the gym, or playing a sport exercise really can be accessible for everyone. The hardest part is getting started!
Here are our top tips from Jessica Woods Physiotherapy on being active this summer!
Getting Started
This is often the hardest part of exercise! And its so easy to find an excuse to put it off…
‘I haven’t got enough time’ or ‘I’m too tired’.
My mother in law once said to me ‘If you’re already tired, but then you go and do some exercise, you may still feel tired at the end, but you’ll more likely feel energised and pleased with yourself for your achievement’. I’ve always remembered this – particularly after I had my two children – I felt as though I was in a permanent state of tiredness with sleep deprivation, trying to work and run a household! Making time for exercise was hard, but whenever I did I always felt so much better for it. I tried to remember this to help me prioritise exercise, even when I was running on little sleep and 6 cups of tea a day to get me through!
Do something you enjoy!
Sometimes the thought of exercise can be enough to put you off even starting, particularly if you plan to do something that you don’t enjoy! For instance, I hate running! I have tried so hard to get into running on more than one occasion. But it just isn’t an exercise that I remotely enjoy! So if someone suggested that I go for a run, I am highly unlikely to even attempt this form of exercise, and much more likely to sit on the sofa watching Netflix! But if someone suggested that I take my dog out for a walk – I would do this in a heart beat, because it’s something that I love.
If you pick something that you enjoy, you are much more likely to do it and keep it up on a regular basis.
Routine
Try to plan your exercise into your weekly routine. If you can plan time for your exercise regularly week on week you are much more likely to stick to it. Having a young family has meant that I often do have free time in the evenings, but my husband and I have had to set days each of us can do our own activity or exercise, so that the other stays in with the children! Having a set routine each week does help me have that regular allotted time for exercise… its just about finding the motivation sometimes!
Reminders/ Nudge
When life is so busy, sometimes things that we are struggling to prioritise get missed. Setting yourself a reminder or ‘nudge’ on your phone or watch can be a helpful way of helping to kick start and maintain your exercise routine. Another good motivator can be to try and exercise with someone. One of my main forms of exercise is walking. I usually try to arrange to walk with a friend. Not only do I find it a good way to catch up one on one with friends, but I also find it holds me to account to complete the exercise – I don’t want to let my friend down, therefore I am more likely to prioritise that session of exercise.
Exercise and Pain
Being in pain can not only be distressing, but can cause you fatigue, tiredness, lower your general mood. So it seems reasonable to believe that trying exercise when you’re in pain may not only be a challenge, but you may also have the fear of making your pain worse.
However, movement and activity are often key elements in rehabilitation and pain reduction. As a physiotherapist it is my goal to help you to be pain free and move as a freely as you would like to. There are many causes of pain, and depending on what condition you have, exercise can help. For example for someone who has back pain – if they stop all activity and move as little as possible, not only will they have their original back pain, but their joints will stiffen up and potentially cause them to have more pain. Whereas keeping moving can reduce stiffness, increase blood flow to the area which can help with the healing process as well as giving all the other benefits that exercise offers you (improved fitness, reduce tiredness/ fatigue, serotonin release).
So there are our 5 top tips for starting and maintaining being active this summer! Good luck! We hope to see you out and about in the fresh air soon!
