Dr. Ferrer, MD FCCP
You’re creating the new you right now. You’ve made your resolutions and are committed to being a part of the eight percent of people who actually realize those goals. Chances are that one of your ambitions entails exercising more— after all, the top resolution of Canadians’ in 2017 was to improve their personal fitness and nutrition.
With so many people wanting to exercise more, it’s important to keep in mind how to stay healthy while hitting the gym, so you can stay on track and avoid lapsing on your workouts because of illness or injury. Here are six things you can do to help you stay healthy.
- Make sure you have the proper equipment for your exercise (and know how to use it): Though it’s good to be creative to achieve your goals, you don’t want to be one of those people who use gym machines incorrectly—you may see yourself on a YouTube fail video, or could get hurt, which is much more cause for concern.
- Make sure your equipment is safe and in good condition: Going along with the previous tip, you need to make sure all of your equipment, from free weights to running shoes, are in good working condition. You could have the right equipment, but if it is in disrepair it could cause some serious damage.
- Make sure equipment is clean: This, especially, is for the gym-goers, but can also be important for those who have home gyms. Germs can easily spread through the gym with all the sweat, heavy breathing, and constant contact with shared equipment. Gyms should have some disinfectant spray that you should use to clean up after yourself. It also may be a good idea to keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer around.
- Drink plenty of fluids: This should go without saying, but sometimes people are so in the zone that they forget to replenish their fluids effectively. Drinking water at the gym won’t be enough; you need to gulp up the H2O throughout the day too. Also, people tend to overdrink sports drinks, which are full of unhealthy things like corn syrup and food colorings. Sports drinks can be necessary, especially with more strenuous workouts, but not always, so just be smart in choosing when to drink them.
- Follow a healthy diet: Your body needs fuel, good Make sure your diet is well balanced and inline with the exercise you are doing.
- Ensure a healthy airway: You will inevitably come in contact with germs and allergens while exercising. Making sure your nose and sinuses are clean is crucial to ensuring you stay healthy. I recommend using Xlear Nasal Spray. It is a natural saline with xylitol, which not only cleanses the airway of bacteria and other contaminants, but also opens up the airway for better peak airflow through the nose for easier breathing. My patients like that it is natural, doesn’t cause an uncomfortable burning sensation, and is extremely effective.
This year is the year to be a healthier you. Follow these tips to keep your health and exercise on track.
