Exercising in comfort offers a number of benefits, both mentally and physically. In the modern era, it is becoming increasingly popular, with more and more people understanding just how key it is to a healthy lifestyle.
However, there are some caveats to be aware of when it comes to general fitness and working out.
Specifically, we’re going to be looking at the comfort side of things. While exercising releases endorphins and whips you into better shape, it’s difficult to enjoy if you’re not fully prepared, or push yourself too hard.
Let’s delve into our top tips for exercising in comfort.
Choose Comfortable Underwear
While ill-fitting underwear may suffice while you’re sitting on the couch, it can rub against your skin during exercise and cause chafing, which is both uncomfortable and distracting.
Choose comfortable underwear for exercising, which will help:
- Prevent excessive movement that can cause discomfort.
- Keep you dry with moisture-wicking materials, keeping you dry and preventing odour or bacterial infections.
- Regulate your body temperature.
- Allow you to focus, and ultimately make more progress on your runs or in the gym.
While exercise can be challenging when you are pushing yourself to break personal bests, it should still be enjoyable. Being uncomfortable can ruin your experience, so upgrading your underwear collection is a good place to start.
Hydrate Prior
Hydrating prior to working out will help regulate your body temperature by allowing you to sweat effectively, while also maintaining your energy levels and supporting joint flexibility to prevent discomfort and limit injury risk.
Handy Hydration Tips:
- Start hydrating when you wake up, rather than just before exercising. This helps you maintain fluid balance throughout the day.
- Sip water consistently rather than chugging loads down at once to prevent bloating and allow your body to process the water more effectively.
- Eat foods that contribute to hydration, such as cucumbers, watermelon, oranges, and lettuce.
Find the Right Footwear
Adequate footwear not only enables you to feel comfortable and perform to your maximum potential, but also helps prevent injuries, assists with posture, and protects your feet from external elements including rough terrain.
It is key that you find a pair of shoes that are suitable to the form of exercise you regularly partake in.
If you’re a jack of all trades when it comes to exercise, you may find you need several pairs of footwear for different fitness activities. For example:
Running shoes are designed for forward motion.
Basketball and tennis shoes provide grip and support for quick cuts.
Training shoes support lateral movement for working out in the gym.
Warm Up & Cool Down
Both of these are often overlooked, particularly cooling down, but are essential components in a healthy workout.
A good warm up elevates your heart rate and gets both your body and mind in the zone, loosening up your joints and helping your body get through the workout.
If you’re doing cardio, do 5 minutes of light jogging and stretching; for weight lifting do a few minutes with some lighter weights to prepare your muscles.
Whether running or training with weights, you should do some light jogging or stretching upon completion of your workout to help your heart rate drop back down to a regular level, prevent blood pooling and reduce muscle soreness.
Don’t Overexert
Once you get into the swing of things and start to make good progress, you may find you’re more motivated to exercise.
While this is a healthy mindset, it is key to moderate volume and intensity. Overtraining can lead to muscle pain, slower recovery times, and ultimately a loss of motivation.
Finding a balance is key. How to prevent overexerting yourself:
- Listen to your body. If it feels standard burning pain from lifting, that should be fine, but if you’re feeling persistent, sharp pains, you probably need a rest.
- Don’t increase the intensity of your workout by more than 10% each week. This will allow you to slowly, but healthily build your strength and fitness.
- Make sure you are sleeping between 7 and 9 hours a night.
Conclusion
It’s good to know that you’re keen to learn more about exercising. It truly is something that will benefit you in multiple aspects of your life.
Just remember to look after your body and find comfortable clothing and footwear to help you perform at your best.
