Springs here, it's time to resume your excercise routine

As temperature climbs, spring is just finally coming! After staying (maybe) at for the entire winter, you are probably eager to resume your exercise routine and enjoy the fresh spring breeze outdoors. Which one are you? The couch potato who is looking forward to losing some weight by starting an exercise routine? Or the fitness guru who can’t wait to get back to working out in the great outdoor? Regardless of which type of person you are, Dev Akhbar, Therapist Director of Beijing United Family Satellite Clinics, has some advice for you on starting an exercise routine

Where Should You Start?

For People Who Do Not Exercise Regularly

For people who don’t exercise regularly before, grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning up the house are probably all of their daily activities.

The beginning is always difficult. However, once started, the results, including stronger muscle strength, better sleep quality, and less fatigue during work, can be seen for this kind of people in approximately a week.

Here are some suggestions for you：

First of all, no need to spend the money on gym membership or buy expensive workout outfit yet.

You can start exercising the way you like it. Download some workout APPs onto your phone and start following the routines at home or even at your office desk.

Workout should make you feel happy, but not an obligation. Exercise to enjoy the health benefits it brings, don’t turn it into stress.

Second,don’t pay too much attention to the changes in weight but the body itself. See how your lifestyle has changed and how your energy level has been up every day.

For those who aim to lose weight, if starting with core strength training, endurance training and physical training, you will gain muscle mass. Since muscle is heavier than fat, you may gain weight instead of losing weight.

If you only focus on the daily weight changes, it may reduce your passion for exercise.

For those who used to exercise regularly

It’s not easy to resume exercising. Not everyone has the energy to restart and get what was achieved before.

Upon resuming, it may be difficult to recover the sense in exerting force; you may start slowly on the court as you may not be able to control the ball. At this time, you may get injured just by copying your previous way of exercise.

Cardio capacity recovers faster than the musculoskeletal system. However, if you immediately increase the amount of exercise too soon, it may cause the musculoskeletal system unable to keep up and cause sports injuries.

For strength training, you need to regain the sense of using your strength to lift weights since you will notice not only weakened strength but also the changes in your posture and the strength control.

Therefore, in the early stage of resuming training, the intensity, duration and frequency should be reduced accordingly. Watch the physical reaction after training for about two weeks. If your body adjusts well, you can gradually increase the amount of training.

Advice from a Physiotherapist

During the training, physical therapists or sports coaches pay more attention to three areas: cardiac output, muscle strength, and endurance.

The cardiac output needs to monitor the heart rate. The international maximum heart rate calculation formula is: 220 - age.

Of course, the principles mentioned above are all under the premise of a healthy heart. If you have cardiovascular problems or are under cardiovascular rehabilitation, consult your doctor to determine what your maximum heart rate is.

Cross-training is especially important when it comes to muscle strength, especially for those who routinely work out.Remember, not to use the same few muscles every day.

For example, sports such as tennis and badminton mostly use the muscles of your upper body. When working out in the gym, you should focus ontraining your lower body.

Sports like basketball mainly use your lower body muscles, then you need to focus on building the strength at your core, shoulders, neck or lower back in the gym.

In conclusion, remember to pace yourself when resume training; gradually build up your strength, as muscles are used to protect us.

Dev Akhbar

Therapist Director

Mr. Dev Akhbar (杨德伟) obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Physiotherapy from Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia. Before joining United Family Healthcare, he was a Senior Physiotherapist in the Department of Sports Medicine of the National University Hospital of Singapore and the Singapore General Hospital as well as chief physiotherapist, family physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic, Camden Medical Centre, Singapore.

Mr. Akhbar has extensive clinical experience in manual therapy, exercisetherapy, extracorporeal shock wave therapy and water rehabilitation.

To make an appointment, scan the QR code to access UFH Patient Portal