How Women Can Avoid Injury When Doing Ab Workouts

     There is nothing worse than having a workout goal in mind, taking time to get all geared up to exercise at the gym or home, only to walk away injured. Unfortunately, injuries are associated with all types of workouts, in this article however, we will be discussing how women can avoid them when doing their ab workouts. Injuries can be a serious setback to your workout goals, minor injuries could lead a woman to require several days to a week for recovery, whereas more serious injuries could take four weeks or longer for the body properly heal. In fact, some of the more serious injuries often require surgery.

Any woman interested in doing ab workouts needs to choose the right exercises for their current level of fitness and more importantly, perform them correctly. This means choosing exercises that match current workout level; be realistic about the workout itself the results you desire, the time frame for obtaining your goal and of course doing all exercises in a slow and controlled manner. The bottom line is by taking a few precautionary steps, injuries associated with women and ab workouts can be avoided.

For women to get and stay in shape, ab workouts are an important part of the overall regimen, to be included with proper diet. To avoid potential for injury, a woman should begin by considering her situation. For example, if you are pregnant or recently delivered a baby, are over the age of 60 or have some type of physical limitation, the first thing to do is consult with your doctor. Go to this appointment prepared to speak with your doctor about your planned regime, including your intended diet, planned exercises and your current overall health situation. This way you can ensure that no part of your diet and exercise plan you have prepared to reach your goal will cause any injury.

Once you get the green light from the doctor or know the exercises to avoid, you can establish a workout schedule. Be sure that in the development of this schedule you allow time for your body to rest. After intense workout sessions, your muscles with have small tears which will need to heal. This healing process is part of the means our body uses to create new muscle.

Another way to avoid injury is to pay attention to your body. The body is an amazing thing, often it talks to us in ways we do not immediately understand. So it is essential for women when doing your ab workouts that you listen to what the body is saying. For example, if at any time during your workout you experience a stabbing pain in the abdomen, which is known as a "stitch"?or more formally an exercise related transient abdominal pain (ETAP), you know something is wrong. Experts believe the reason for this pain is poor blood circulation going to the diaphragm. Although research has shown that too much pressure on the ligaments and too much water intake are also causes of ETAP. When you feel this pain, stop your exercise routine and rest for at least 30 minutes.

This type of pain is not believed to be damaging but it is a sign that perhaps you might be pushing too hard too fast. In addition, this pain can often be prevented by ensuring that your stomach is not bloated prior and during your workout. Therefore, you want to avoid eating a large meal or drinking a large quantity of water. Again, if you feel a pain like this, you should harbor on the side of caution and stop for the day and possibly alter your workout routine for a few days.

Research has shown that the most common type of injuries associated with women and ab workouts is a muscle strain. The primary reason for this type of injury is performing your abdominal exercise improperly. What does this mean? Simply, when the body is pushed to perform in a way it was not meant to, muscles become overstretched and overworked. This type of injury can cause significant pain, but usually resting those muscles for a few days or weeks is all that is necessary to heal. If the pain persists longer, be sure to consult your doctor.

Remember, resting the core muscles after a strain is critical for women. Pushing ahead to soon with your ab exercises could cause a more serious injury such as a muscle tear. This is a very painful injury and your will likely face a long healing period or surgery to repair the tear. So using proper planning and execution will help to ensure that you are safely able to reach your exercise goals.

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