How to Start Your Fitness Journey

There are lots of good reasons to get fit right now! The weather is cooler, it’s great for managing stress and supporting your mental and physical health, and with lots of people working from home, there’s more time than usual to get in a good daily workout. As exercise physiotherapists, we know that it’s important to start your fitness journey on the right foot to keep you on track and help prevent injuries and strains. Here is some advice to follow from your sports injury specialist at Form Function Physio in Richmond.



Set an End Goal
Think about why you want to start running, cycling or exercising – is it to lose weight? Is it to regain your fitness in a sport you love from your past? Whatever the reason, it’s good to set out an end goal for yourself that’s pretty specific, like losing 5kgs or being able to run a marathon when organised sports reopen. This is personal and motivational, and shouldn’t be about comparing yourself to anyone else.

Break Down Your Goal into Manageable Bites
When you’ve been a couch potato for years and your goal is to run a marathon or compete in a big cycling event, even the thought of that much effort can be overwhelming! And trying to run 10km or cycle for an hour straight off the bat is a good way to end up with you needing the help of a sports injury specialist at Form Function Physio in Richmond. Instead, start small.

If you are jogging, plan a 5km route around your local streets or park and run gently for 1km, then walk for 1km, then run again. Do this for about a week, then try run longer and walk less. You need to give these under-used muscles, ligaments and tendons time to stretch out and get stronger, or you put yourself at risk of an injury which may require weeks of rest and treatment from an exercise physiotherapist.

Track Your Progress
Tracking your progress as you gain fitness is a good way to stay motivated and adjust your short-term goals. There are loads of great apps and fitness devices that can help you do this for almost any sport. They’ll track your route, breathing and speed automatically, showing your progress over each session and highlighting personal bests. A personal trainer (available online these days) can also help you with more specialised fitness routines, tracking the weight you are lifting and assisting with technique to ensure you don’t injure yourself and end up at an exercise physiotherapist.

Mix it Up
If you want to run, don’t spend every day out on the same route. Mix it up with road and park runs, days where you focus on speed and days where you focus on endurance. It’s the same for cycling or any other sport. If you do the same thing each day, you’re not just going to get bored, you’re also going to only train specific muscle groups. Strengthening your body as a whole is a good way to increase your performance quickly and avoid visits to sports injury specialist, so try get a mix of cardio and strength training, including yoga and using weights.

If You Get Injured, Visit a Sports Injury Specialist at Form Function Physio in Richmond
Injuries can happen to any athlete at any time, and the important thing is to get fast, effective treatment from an exercise physiotherapist. At Form Function Physio in Richmond, we’ll help you get back to doing what you love as quickly as possible! Contact us today.

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