Exercise for beginners helps you build foundational strength, stability, and flexibility that will allow you to prevent future injuries. As you improve, you can expand your athletic activities to include more demanding workouts. However, it’s important not to do too much too fast. This increases the risk of torn ligaments, muscle strain, and other injuries that could not only cause pain but stop you from being active.
How To Work Out Safely for Beginners
By far, one of the most important things for you to understand as a beginner is that exercising isn’t something you do once and forget about.
To avoid torn ligaments and ACL injuries, you should be doing some form of exercise (beyond simple walking) every day. Even 10-15 minutes makes a difference. This will help condition your body to avoid the types of situations that would put you in danger in the first place.
Don’t Forget to Warm-Up
You’ll also need to warm up before you do any type of exercise. You need ample time to stretch in specific ways depending on which exercise you’ve chosen to do. That way, your body will be adequately prepared when the time does come to exert yourself.
Having said all of that, some of the beginner exercises that you can do to avoid torn ligaments include but are not limited to ones like:
- Quad sets
- Leg raises (including back leg raises and straight leg raises)
- Wall sits
- Planks
- Bridges
- Lunges
Many of these exercises focus on your legs in particular, and the more you strengthen your legs, the stronger those muscles and ligaments become. That way, when the time does come to ramp up your exercise and do something a little more intense, you’ve built up the stamina you need to avoid injury.
Take It Slow
A slow pace is fine for a beginner, even if your eyes are set on HIIT, high-intensity cardio, running, and other activities. You have to progressively build up your body’s stamina, strength, and agility. It’s okay to take months to reach a fitness goal, and it can take a year or more to reach a desired fitness level as a total beginner.
Get Urgent Care When You Need It
Our urgent care team of orthopedic specialists is always here to help if you sustain an injury. Contact Go To Ortho today or call 503-850-9950 if you have any questions. We also accept walk-ins, so please don’t hesitate to visit our clinic in Lake Oswego or Beaverton, OR, if you need care.
