Returning to exercise following lockdown.
Read our guide from David Bown, physiotherapy assistant and qualified personal trainer at Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital.
"Now that the gyms and leisure centres have opened, and the weather getting colder, people are keen to return to gym-based exercise following our second national lockdown.
I, like many, feel exercise is a massive contributor to physical and mental wellbeing, as well as a great confidence builder. I know many people (including myself); have suffered from the effects of this year, and having the option of using gym-based exercise to combat that.
However, there are some important things you will need to remember;
- Set yourself a small, achievable short-term goal - This will ensure you have a specific target to aim for, and will keep your motivation on point.
- Plan – Session plans are a great tool to keep you engaged with your goals and to keep an eye on your progression. A personal trainer can assist with this.
- Warm-up sufficiently - This includes stretching, warming up and movement preparation, to help avoid unnecessary injuries.
- Start light - This is important, you may feel like you need to make up for lost time, but you need to ensure you are sensible with your choice of weight or speed of the desired exercises. Slowly build this up, and ensure your form and technique are correct before you increase the difficulty.
- Make it enjoyable – If you can enjoy your sessions, you will never feel like it is quite as hard. Keep your sessions interesting, or even try something new like a class if your tiers allow it. You might even like it!!
If you can follow these, in my opinion, you will be well set up to smash your goals and start 2021 the best way possible."
About David Bown
David has worked as a physiotherapy assistant since 2013, starting in the NHS and moving to Nuffield Health, focusing mainly on orthopaedics. He is Level 3 Personal Trainer Practitioner qualified and combines his knowledge and experiences as a physiotherapy assistant with his love for rehabilitation and powerlifting.
Through Personal Training (PT) David enjoys helping people reach their goals, ensuring the training he sets is enjoyable and therefore sustainable. He sees a range of clients from those who are recovering from surgery or an injury, those who want to become stronger or lose weight to those who just want to improve their confidence in a gym setting. David works very closely with the physiotherapists at Nuffield Health, which is a great asset to the PT service.
Read more about Personal Training at Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital