It's that time of year where a lot of us decide we are going to ramp up our exercise. We've enjoyed Christmas and New Year, some of us have returned to work and those lucky enough still to be off are probably starting to think about getting back in to some form of routine. Getting back in to training is a great way to do this. After a few weeks you will be looking forward to your training sessions, feeling great about yourself and starting to reap the many rewards for your efforts. The last thing you want at this point is to be struck down by injury. I have been considering this quite a bit myself lately – a few mates and I have decided to pick up the running this year and work towards our first Marathon next January. While it's impossible to completely eliminate the risk of injury it is possible to minimise it - so I'd like to share some of the things we are going to keep in mind as our training picks up. 

1. Plan your training and what you want to achieve from it. This will keep you on track and help you stay motivated. If you have a good plan in place you are less likely to get injured.  

2. Rest is just as important as training. Following a cardio or strength session it takes 24-48 hours for your body to recover and adapt. If you push yourself too hard again before you have adequately recovered you overload your body, increasing the risk of injury and you won't get the improvements you expect. This is particularly important if you are resuming or significantly increasing your exercise. 

3. Lay some foundations. If your goal is to lift a 120kg bench press, jumping straight in and doing lots of heavy bench press isn't the best approach. Same goes for running a marathon, not having the strength to get you through the amount of running you will need to do is a recipe for disaster. It's much easier to spend some time getting this right now rather than trying to overcome an injury 4 weeks out from the Marathon! In our training we've given ourselves a six week period where we are working on core, gluteal and lower body strength and improving our flexibility. We will start with one run a week and add an extra run every two weeks as our strength improves.  

4. Identify and address weaknesses. If you have had a previous injury that you still feel is a weakness, or one side of your body doesn't feel quite right then it is best to try and sort it out early in your training program rather than it becoming a problem later on. It might be that you need to perform additional strengthening for that area or have a management plan in place to stop it coming back to bite you later on.  

5. Variety to combat boredom. Doing the same routine over and over quickly becomes repetitive and we lose interest. It also puts the body under repetitive stresses and this can contribute to injuries. Incorporate strength, cardio and flexibility training in to your routine to make sure your training program is balanced and interesting while keeping your body in peak condition. 

This is just a selection of steps you can take to help prevent injury. Diet, correct equipment and good technique are other things to consider and may be worth discussing at another time. The above 5 tips will be helpful to anyone re-commencing or starting up an exercise routine and help you structure your training program.