- Get you body ready to exercise. Always warm up before you work out. Warming up properly ( i.e., doing enough to raise your body temperature) helps to ensure that your body is prepared to safely handle the stress of exercise.
- Don’t put yourself at risk. Don’t exercise if you’re ill or feeling unduly fatigued. Physical activity can exacerbate your illness if you are sick, and possibly expose you to increased risk of being injured if you’re extremely tired.
- Organize you workout environment. Keep your exercise area free of clutter. Rerack weights. Don’t allow your exercise area to become an obstacle course which can elevate odds of injury (tripping, falling).
- Proceed sensibly. Never try to do too much too soon. When you first begin to workout, start at a sensible level, and then progressively adjust how much you do as your body adapts to demands imposed on it.
- Use your lungs. Never hold your breath while exercising, particularly when you’re lifting weights. Holding your breath while exercising can cause a buildup of inner thoracic (inner rib cage) pressure, which can inhibit the return of blood to your heart. This action also can compromise the amount of blood flow (and subsequent oxygen) to your entire body.
- Listen up. Don’t argue what your body may be trying to tell you if you’re doing too much when you’re exercising. Always respond to such signals (e.g., sharp pain, dizziness, nausea, etc.) Having a “warrior” mindset will not protect you if you exceed your body’s capability to adapt to the amount of physical stress imposed on it.