Sophomore Maiyah Czarnecki knows the importance of exercise safety. Photo by: Gina Rodeghero
By Gina Rodeghero
Exercise safety plays a large role in every person’s life. Whether it prevents a minor or major injury, there are many ways to for both athletes and casual exercisers to be safe.
Warming up and cooling down are just some of the safety precautions that are taken by athletes. Mr. Waymouth, school media center specialist and boy’s golf coach said that he stretches before and after exercising, as a precaution. People tend to not take precautions while exercising, which is not a safe thing. “I usually do not exercise other than yoga now and then, but exercising and being safe about it is a very good thing.” sophomore Maiyah Czarnecki said. Though being safe takes peoples’ judgment, it also tends to require some rules.
Along with exercising comes responsibility and being able to follow rules. Czarnecki said “people who exercise should always have a partner. Just in case one of them gets hurt the other one can go get help.” Some of the main rules are to try and work up to the harder tasks but not to start out with the hardest exercises because that is when one can get hurt. “Taper up your intensity. Shorter time and intensity till you get into a routine where you can up your duration,” Waymouth said. Most take extra measures to make sure they are being safe before after and during the work out.
Some of the many actions people can take to be safe while exercising would include, making sure to stay hydrated, correct breathing techniques, and not pushing themselves too hard to the point of injury. There are some out there that think about if they would want someone important in their lives doing what they are doing before they do those things. “I just think about my sister and if I would want her to be doing the same thing I am doing before I do that thing and if I do not want her doing those things I go and find something safer to do,” Czarnecki said. Another thing to be careful of is if you exercise outside, you really need to dress for the weather and the environment that one is working out in. Waymouth said “just the regular stuff. Dress for the time of day — like reflective stuff at night.”
Exercising on a machine is very different type of exercising so it requires a very different set of rules. “I suppose so. A treadmill requires certain types of shoes,” Waymouth said. When exercising people need to be more careful because the equipment tends to be more dangerous. The rules for using a machine when exercising tend to become much stricter to keep people safe.
Some people learn the safety guidelines from going to a gym, but some people have learned these things because of gym class at school or sports. Waymouth learned the importance of exercise safety by playing sports in high school. But then there are people who learn from seeing people get injured, or personal experience. “Wear a helmet when riding a bike. I have seen my sister crash way too many times for her not to learn the lesson,” Czarnecki said.