Workouts that Contribute Less Wear & Tear on Your Body

Workouts that Contribute Less Wear & Tear on Your Body

I have patients ask me all the time, what workouts can I do that will contribute to less wear and tear on my body?

The answer that I give them is not one that they usually expect.  Certainly there are some activities that contribute to less wear and tear on the body. However,  the more important concept is to be variable in your workouts.

Walking for example is an fantastic form of exercise that does not contribute much wear and tear on your body. Pilates and Swimming are other forms of exercise in that same category.

More importantly, I usually recommend that my patients engage in activities that they enjoy regardless of the amount of wear and tear that it can put on your body.

One must recognize that all exercises or activities done unilaterally overtime are going to contribute to wear and tear of your body.  If you are variable with your activity and change your exercise activities frequently enough, the wear and tear concern is mostly not an issue.

Best practices are to be variable with your activity. For example that might look like weightlifting one day and Pilates class the next day. If you live in Marin County I highly recommend you checkout Fitwise Pilates in Mill Valley.

Going on a hike in nature one day and then maybe doing a yoga class the following day.  Going for a run one day and then a swim the next day.

The concept is to engage in using different muscle groups with your activities consistently. My patients that have trouble with where and tear on their body are consistently doing the same workouts over and over again.

Unfortunately this trend can start in childhood athletics. I treat many children that are already contributing to wear and tear at a very young age. If one wants to partake in one sport  for the whole entire year they should be engaged in cross training on a consistent basis to avoid injury.

So yes walking, Pilates, swimming, Tai Chi and  different forms of exercise can contribute to overall less wear and tear.  However, if you really want to avoid wear and tear the best thing is to do is to incorporate multiple different types of exercise activities and switch out consistently so that you don’t overwork one specific set of muscle groups.

Don’t forget mobility work with Lacrosse Balls, Foam Rollers along with stretching can go along way to help avoid overuse injury as well.

If you or someone you know has been overdoing it with one form of exercise and contributing to wear and tear on their joints and or soft tissues, contact us, we may be able to help.