Steps to Avoid Injury in Exercise

1. Steps to Avoid Injury in Exercise
Going for the 3 Increases: Increase in Health, Increase in
Happiness & Increase in Energy
Strategies for
Success in Weight
Management
By: James J. Messina, Ph.D.

2. Step 1: To Avoid Injury in Exercise
– Get an Evaluation
 Ensure that you are medically safe to exercise
 See a physician and undergo a physical
examination and evaluation before you initiate
your exercise program
 Your evaluation depends on your age, health
status, and anticipated exercise intensity
 Healthy individuals under age 40 (men) and 50
(women) are usually upon completing a
medical/health status questionnaire, if answers
don't reveal any possible contraindications to
exercise.

3. Step 1: To Avoid Injury in Exercise
– Get an Evaluation
All older asymptomatic individuals (males
40 plus, females 50 plus) or at high risk
(e.g., having one or more risk factors:
smoking, hypertension, high blood
cholesterol, obesity, stress, family history
of medical problems, diabetes) should
undergo a physician -supervised, graded
exercise test

4. Step 2: To Avoid Injury in Exercise
– Develop A Sound Program
 Develop a sound exercise program based on
scientifically documented information
 It should involve starting at an intensity
appropriate for you and then progressing
gradually to a point where your body must
respond to increasingly higher physical
demands.
 The temptation to do too much too soon should
be avoided
 Moderation is essential

5. Step 2: To Avoid Injury in Exercise
– Develop A Sound Program
 A major cause of musculoskeletal injuries is
overuse - placing demands on your body that
your body simply is not designed to handle.
 A sound exercise program always includes
provisions for stretching the major joints of your
body before and after exercising.
 It also ensures that you get proper rest (steep).
Rest enables you to better recover from the
demands placed on your body by exercising.

6. Step 3: To Avoid Injury in Exercise
– Listen to your body
 Respond accordingly to common exercise
termination signals (e.g., dizziness,
lightheadedness, abnormal heart beats, pain or
pressure in your chest, musculoskeletal
trauma, prolonged fatigue, etc.).
 These signals are your body's way of telling
you that something is amiss and that you must
decrease the level of stress to which you are
subjecting your body.

7. Step 3: To Avoid Injury in Exercise
– Listen to your body
 Respond accordingly to common exercise
termination signals (e.g., dizziness,
lightheadedness, abnormal heart beats, pain or
pressure in your chest, musculoskeletal
trauma, prolonged fatigue, etc.).
 These signals are your body's way of telling
you that something is amiss and that you must
decrease the level of stress to which you are
subjecting your body.