Raffles Health News - Raffles Medical Group

Raffles HealthNews Feature 25SE: EXCUSES!MEN & THEIRaffordable. There are many neighbourhoodfitness centres that are either managed bythe Singapore Sports Council or by theNTUC Income. These centres charge alower fee as compared to other gyms andthey have most of the equipment.4“But exercise is such a chore!”Says who? Make getting your daily exercisefun. Play a game. Go dancing. Grab a fewfriends for a weekend hike in the park.Exercise does not have to be routine. Stopthinking of it as a chore and start thinking ofit as recreation. You will be amazed what adifference it makes.(Real) Reasons for NotExercising:• Fear of InjuryIf you have not exercised very much,you may not be able to tell the differencebetween the normal discomfort you feelfrom exercising for the first time (e.g.burning muscles or heavy breathing)and pain. In fact, a beginner may feelso many tweaks and twangs, it mayfeel like everything is pulling, tearing orfalling apart.• Attitude AdjustmentIt is inevitable that you will feelsomething while you exercise, but itis important to separate genuine painfrom normal sensations. If you areconcerned, do approach your doctoror physiotherapist for advice.• Fear of Looking Like an IdiotAnything can happen when youexercise, especially when you takea lot of sweaty people and put themtogether with machines that havemoving parts. It is also possible tofeel like an idiot when you cannotfigure out how a machine works orif you are not sure whether you aredoing an exercise correctly.• Fear of Pain“I have always hated pain and goneout of my way to avoid it as much aspossible.” That is probably true formost people which is why they avoidexercise, fearing that there is nothingbut pain in store for them.Doing It RightYou can do a few basic things to minimiseyour risk of injury:• Get the Right ShoesWearing the running shoes youbought 10 years ago is probably nota great idea and can lead to all kindsof problems. Invest in a good pair ofshoes to give your body the supportit needs.• Learn Proper TechniqueIf you are lifting weights, the first way tohurt yourself is by lifting too much weightand/or using bad form/posture duringyour exercises. If you do not know howto do the exercises, seek assistancefrom a trainer or physiotherapist, orget a gym employee to show you howthe machines work and give you somebasics.• Warm Up Before Your WorkoutAlways start with some cardioexercises, for example, walkingor cycling before any stretchingexercises. Jumping into your workoutwithout warming up can lead toinjuries and pain.• Work Within Your Fitness LevelMany injuries happen when you dotoo much, too soon. Start with a lightprogram and work your way up tomore intense and frequent workoutswhen you get stronger. For example,if you can only walk for 10 minutes,start there and increase your timeeach week.Stay Motivated• Plan on ways to get past obstaclesbefore they happen. If you find you areskipping exercise because of familyresponsibilities, plan a family walk orouting to get them involved too.• Try to workout in the morning. Youwill have more energy throughoutthe day and you would not have theexcuse of skipping it because youare too tired or when you have towork late.• Workout with a friend. When a friendis waiting for you, you are less likelyto back out.• Make a list of goals and put them onthe refrigerator.When you think about skipping yourworkout, go back and read your list.Remember why you are doing this. Keeptrack of your progress. When you reacha goal, it will motivate you to keep going.Wake up each day and ask yourself howyou will make your day healthy. Planyour workouts the night before and beprepared with a workout bag ready to goso there are no excuses.HN