Happy New Year! With a new year comes resolutions, and for many Americans it includes hitting the gym and getting healthy. While there are several different ways you can do this, the most important thing is to stay safe and take all the precautions needed to approach it in a safe and productive way. While we certainly would love to meet you in our Wyoming/Nebraska physical therapist office...let’s try to avoid injuries! To help you stay safe, we’ve compiled our favorite five tips that are sure to help keep you on the right track.

Get Guidance
Yes, we are giving you some light guidance here. But getting a personal trainer or coach will do wonders. Not only will this help you reach your goals faster, they can help better train and prepare your body for any strenuous activity. While everyone wants to reach their goals, it is essential that one does so safely, and with as little injury as possible. 

Warm Up
If you are getting ready to partake in any type of physical activity, you should really take time to complete a short five minute warm up. Warm up with a light walk, or even some light stretching. While it might seem as if it’s not helpful, and not helping you meet your goals, it’ll ultimately help keep yourself from getting any injuries.

Nutrition 
You’ll never meet your goals if you aren’t fueling your body properly. While fad diets are certainly not healthy, fueling your body with fruits, vegetables and lean proteins are the quickest way to help fuel your workouts. 

Listen to Your Body
If you feel strain on your body, be sure to relax. Muscle strains and pains are your body’s way of telling you to slow down, take a breather, and make sure that you get some much needed rest. The same applies to nutrition - if you are hungry, be sure to get some healthy foods into your body.

Cross Train
If you are hoping to reach your goals, it’s important to cross train. Cross training will keep your muscles from getting exhausted, and it’ll help keep your workouts fresh, stimulating, and impactful. If your body becomes to use one type of workout, it’s common to plateau and you can cause your muscles un-needed strain and damage.

If you start to develop an injury, be sure to reach out to your primary care physician, they can help guide you on the right treatment path. At North Platte Physical Therapy, we are here to help meet your needs. We serve the communities of Wyoming and Nebraska with 22 clinics offering a full range of physical therapy services. Contact us today for more information.