Staying fit and working out is an important part of a healthy, long life. However, jumping into a workout or any fitness activity (the gym, climbing, jogging, mountain biking, etc.) without performing some simple steps could eventually lead to more stress, and more back pains. Here are some simple steps that you could take in order to prevent any kind of muscle pain or injury while working out.

First of all, making sure that you have a good nights rest is vital for your performance, and therefore is important to protecting your muscles. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body isn’t as rested and you are more prone to getting an injury. According to the Mayo Clinic and Livestrong, healthy adults should get between 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

Make sure that you are eating right, and drinking plenty of water. Think of your car – if you don’t give it the right oil or fuel, things start breaking or the car stops working. Same thing with your body, if you don’t feed it good carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins, how do you expect to remain healthy? Simple things such as a protein rich breakfast, or carrying around a refillable water bottle with you all day can boost your health and prevent your muscles from being more prone to injury.

Finally, in order to minimize back pains or injuries from occurring while working out, stretch! Inflexibility and limited range of motion due to tight hamstrings can definitely increase your risk of injury, so before you start any physical activity make sure that you are taking an extra 10 minutes to stretch. Stretching is also known to help reduces stress. Simple techniques like low back-stretches can prevent lower back pains and will make your workout safer.

By doing these simple things, you can prevent back pains and reduce the chances of you injuring yourself during your workout. On top of that, you will feel healthier, and you will be getting a lot more out of your workout because your body will be fully charged and ready to go.