Starting a new fitness routine as part of your 2023 new year’s resolutions can be challenging! We’re giving you the 5 best fitness hacks that will help you achieve your fitness goals and prevent injury!  

1. Incorporate Mobility Exercises

It is important to mobilize your joints so they do not develop compensations, weakness or stiffness. By including mobility exercises and stretches into your routine you can help increase your foundational and active range of motion. This can help you actually get more out of each exercise you are performing and prevent injury.  

Try these awesome mobility exercises that will help improve strength, flexibility and prevent injury. 

2. Proper Hydration 

We all know hydration is key! Proper hydration is important for everyone and can help replenish your muscles. It can also help increase energy, aid recovery and enhance performance.  

One of the ways proper hydration also helps when starting a new fitness journey for your new year’s resolutions is by helping keep your joints lubricated. Did you know the cartilage in our joints contains approximately 80% water? Staying hydrated helps your joints helps reduce friction by creating more of a “cushion” between the bones. Less friction means smoother-moving joints and fewer aches and pains. 

And don’t be fooled if you aren’t getting super sweaty during your workout! It is important to hydrate before, during and after any kinds of physical activity.  

3. Cold Therapy 

One of our favorite ways to recover after a workout is with cryotherapy. Cold therapy can help reduce inflammation by helping improve blood flow to strained muscles and tissues. The increase in blood flow allows your cells to deliver more oxygen and nutrients to these joints and muscles promoting healing and reduced soreness.   

This is a great form of treatment that to help your body move better and recover faster. Cold therapy is utilized by many athletes to help improve athletic performance.  

If you are active, whether that be through sports, workouts, or everyday life, then recovery is just as beneficial as the activity itself. If you take the proper time to recover or heal from hard workouts or injuries, you are more likely to prevent further injury and see better results. 

4. Mental Health/Rest 

One of our favorite fitness hacks is to make sure you prioritize your mental health and proper rest for your body. Pushing yourself too hard or setting unrealistic expectations can give your body and mental state a hard hit. Prioritize resting, setting small goals and giving yourself positive affirmations through your journey.  

Even though it can seem counterproductive, incorporating rest days into your fitness routine can actually help you be more successful. By given your body time to rest, your muscles and joints have time to rest. When you work out, you break down the muscle fibers. You’re muscles actually rebuild as you rest and that is how you become stronger. 

In addition, setting unrealistic expectations on your body can cause you to have a hard time sticking to your routine. If you are new to a fitness routine, it might be unrealistic to fit in 5-6 workouts a week into your schedule. Try to set a goal of 2-3 workouts a week. This will allow your body and mind to get used to the physical changes in addition to helping create a maintainable routine. Once you successful adhere to those workouts, you can begin adding in more as you would like. By starting small, you build a foundation that is manageable.  

5. Injury Prevention  

In addition to focusing on strength building or weight loss, be sure to include exercises that focus on mobility, stability and strength for injury prevention.  

In addition to your actual workouts, a great fitness hack is to be sure to incorporate a proper warm up and cool down. A proper warm up can help prepare your mind and body for activity in addition to aiding in recovery after. 

We always recommend dynamic stretches to help increase body temperature, range of motion, improve muscle elasticity and improve muscle performance.  

At the end of your workout, be sure to take time to properly stretch out your muscles. This is when you can use static stretches to help the muscles recover. Other forms of recovery include foam rolling, active recovery days, sleep and proper nutrition. 

These fitness hacks will help set you up for the most long-term success in preventing injury and will even help you become stronger and build more muscle!  

Get Treated at Kaizo Health    

Our goal at Kaizo Health is to always get you back to feeling 100%. Our doctors provide treatment to help you be pain-free. We also have a dedicated team that will work with you and your insurance. We want to make sure you get the most from your benefits. You should experience relief for as little cost to you as possible. If you are ready to experience relief from the pain, make an appointment to see us now.        

 
Kaizo Health offers locations in Rockville, MD; Landover, MD; Fort Washington, MD; and Fairfax, VA. Our doctors an evidence-based approach by combining chiropractic care and individualized rehabilitative exercises. We provide the treatment and resources you need to recover your health. We are here to help! If you’d like more information, check out our blog. You can also take our free virtual self-assessment on app here.