Staying safe while exercising is a priority for gym instructors and clients. Every person should aim to adhere to the following precautionary guidelines
- Bring your water bottle and stay hydrated
Water helps your body to exercise efficiently and lubricates the body. This means you are going to have more energy during the workout and the exercise will be easier. Water will also help supply oxygen to your body after releasing a lot of energy and burning it down to release sweat.
- Wear appropriate gym attire
Consider wearing comfortable clothes; if you are biking, avoid wide-leg or loose pants that could get tangled up in the pedals or your feet. Loose pants may not be appropriate for workouts such as yoga because they are too loose at the bottom and maybe caught by exercise equipment. Over tight clothes may bring health issues to your body i.e. may cause circulation problems and yeast infection around your groin.
- Don’t skip the warm-up and cool-down session
Starting to work out with ‘cold’ muscles may lead to injury, and this could be dangerous especially to beginners. Warming up helps pump in oxygen into the blood and to your muscles, this will help speed up your heart rate and breathing. Warming up helps your body acclimate to what you are about to put it through. The cooldown can be done through a sequence of slow movements. It helps prevent muscle cramps and dizziness while gradually slowing your breath and heart rate. You can also do stretch exercises to relax. The stretch also improves flexibility.
- Pay attention to the people around you
Paying attention to the people around you may help you find motivation i.e. external motivation when you are dragging. It may also help you diversify your workouts; having spotters to make sure that you are performing an exercise correctly.
- Lock up your personal belongings
Decide where and how you are going to keep your belongings. You can decide to lock them in one of the lockers or leave them in the car. You should note that no method of mobile security is ever foolproof.
- Do not bring so much cash and valuable items.
Carrying valuable and cash may bring a lot of distraction during the exercise as full concentration may be paid to the items and thus losing focus.