One of the common banes for any regular fitness enthusiast is an injury. Whether you have a nagging soreness that flares up to the point that it limits your ability to do a particular activity, have an accident that results in a sprain or strain, or overdid it in your last workout routine it is virtually impossible to go through the years without an injury. But one of the best ways to limit the amount and frequency of those injuries is to do all that you can to prevent them.

This is obviously much easier said than done and while no amount of injury prevention care can eliminate all your chances of winding up side lined there are plenty of things you can do to be proactive.

* Stretching. While there has been debate as to the best time to stretch you always want to do it after your muscles have had a chance to warm up and are loose. This means at the end of your workout you should spend a few minutes doing both static stretching and dynamic stretching for each of the major muscles groups. This will increase flexibility and your range of motion leaving your muscles less prone to a tear or pull.
* Ice. If you do feel a soreness creeping up whether it be suddenly after a workout or one that has been nagging for awhile you can benefit from icing the area after any other workouts for up to 15 minutes. The icing will reduce inflammation and increase healing.
* Strength train. The stronger your whole body is and the better your muscles are toned the less likely you are to being injured. Your core especially should be strong as it is your powerhouse and if you are diligent in targeting each muscle group you can limit the chances that a sudden stressor will result in an injury. The stronger a muscle is overall the better it can stand up to any tweaks.
* Know when to rest. If you are dealing with an acute or chronic soreness or pain that will not go away or gets worse after the first five or ten minutes of your workout instead of better you could speed up recovery and get back to your normal fitness routine faster if you ease back or take a day off. If the pain is only during a certain movement or motion try a different activity that will give you a similar physical benefit without causing the stress on the place that hurts. Swimming or going into the pool to aqua-jog is usually a great option as the non-weight bearing effect of the water will allow you to get in a great cardio workout without any added stress.

Being smart will help stave off injuries as well as reduce the amount of time needed for a proper recovery!