Starting a New Workout

By Mary Buzzard, PT, DPT, OCS

During the stay at home order, everyone has experienced a major change in routine. Gyms are closed, but we still need to exercise.

I have had some patients and friends reach out to me in the last week with new aches and pains from starting different exercise routines. I thought it would be helpful to think about guidelines for safely transitioning into a new type of workout and then scaling it up in a sustainable way.

When you start something new, your goal should be making sure your body can handle it before making sure you get a really good sweat. There is no room for the ‘no pain no gain’ mentality when you are starting something new. You can push yourself later once you have earned the right to do it.

How different is this new activity compared to your usual exercise – be honest with yourself! If you normally swim or bike and want to start running or stairclimbing – the first category has no impact and the second category has a lot of impact. The more novel the new exercise, the slower and more intentional you need to be as you ramp up your workouts.

Simple guidelines and mindset 

1.  Frequency – when starting something new, give yourself lots of rest between workouts. Like 3 days or more! This is something I always talk about when getting people into running, but it applies to everything. When you do something different, new challenges and loads are placed on the body – you are stressing the tissue and the tissue will need time to recover. Doing a new workout 1-2 times per week can be a good starting point, and then you can increase frequency slowly.

2.  Intensity – there will be a learning curve in the beginning where you won’t have muscle memory, and you will need to be extra focused on form. During this time, I encourage people to keep the physical demand low because the mental demand will be high. With cardio type workouts, keep it at conversation pace, meaning you can hold a conversation throughout the activity because you aren’t breathing too hard. Accept the fact that you might not get the crazy intense workout you want in the beginning. You are laying the foundation for that later! Better to build slow over time, than get an injury and be sidelined.

3.  Listen to your body – think of aches and pains as communication from your body and learn to interpret their meaning! If you are sore or in pain, give your body rest. See how long it takes to get back to normal. If it is muscle soreness, 2-3 days is normal. If it is pain, you need to pay closer attention and be a detective. Some pain could be ok if it is low level and hanging around for less than 24 hours. You should try to alter the frequency, intensity, or duration of your activity and see how that impacts your pain. You should look big picture and see if your pain is getting better or worse as your body adjusts to the new workouts. If you tune into your body, you will learn a lot!

Here are some general guidelines for getting into running:

·  Start by walking 2-3 miles at a good pace 2x week. If you can handle that for about 2 weeks without problem, then start adding in some jogs. 2 min walking, 1 min jogging (slow). Do not change your overall distance (2-3 miles) or frequency (2x/week). Then start increasing the jogging to 2 minutes (2 min walk, 2 min jog). Once that feels good, decrease the walk to 1 minute (1 min walk, 2 min jog) and then eventually to no walking or sporadic periods of walking as needed (1 min walk, 5-10 min jog). You should progress every 1-2 weeks depending on how you feel. I encourage you to customize these numbers based on your situation and fitness level, or to consult a physical therapist if you need additional guidance.

Here are some general guidelines for getting into stairclimbing: 

·  Start at the bottom of the staircase. Focus on form, glut and core engaged, foot planted as you climb up and climb back down. Stay on one flight of stairs – go up 1 flight and back down 1 flight because when you go up you use different muscles than when you go down. Aim for about 4-5 rounds. See how your body feels after. If you start to feel pain in the front of the knees that typically means that you’re pushing through the knees instead of focusing on engaging your gluts and core. I recommend slowing down and really concentrating on proper muscle engagement. If you are pretty sore, you may want to wait 4-5 days before going back to do it again. Add 1 flight each time you go back to the staircase, keeping your overall frequency of stair climbing to 1-2 times per week. As with running, I encourage you to customize these numbers based on your personal situation and fitness level and past injuries or to consult a physical therapy for additional guidance.

Don’t Forget the Strength Training:

·  With any type of cardio workout, strength training needs to be part of the routine. Without strengthening you develop muscle imbalances and have a much higher chance for injury. Plus, strength training helps build muscle more quickly, improve cardio effectiveness, develop strong bones, manage weight, improve balance and much more. Strength training can be achieved with body weight activities, weights, bands, machines and items that you have at home like a chair, laundry detergent or cans of soup. 

If you have any questions about starting a new exercise routine, please contact [email protected]. Dynamic Physical Therapy Chicago is open for in person and telehealth visits at this time. We would be happy to help trouble shoot your aches and pains or safely guide you into a new form of exercise. Follow us on Instagram or Like us on Facebook for weekly exercise videos and tips.