Don’t Let Off Season Wreck your Season
Off season: Where the real mountain athletes are separated from the posers, the women from the girls, the dogs from the pups, the John Cena's from the Mark Wahlberg's. Off season is where some sleep till 11, watch The Office (WE GET IT... you like The Office), and get the last of the girl scout cookies out of the freezer. Now this does sound pretty darn dandy, but stay with me for a second... what if you used off season as an opportunity- an opportunity to recover from ski season and prepare for summer biking and hiking. This isn't going to happen in Scranton, but you can utilize your off season at home by lengthening your tight, overused, winter muscles, relieving muscular pain and tightness, finally addressing that nagging low back pain, and putting some effort into getting your body ready for the its next demands... did someone say trail running?!
These are the Do’s and Don’ts of Off-Season so that you don’t hurt yourself in time for this summer season.
Just because you ran or biked or paddled a lot last summer doesn’t mean that you’re starting at the same level this year. Start slow, start easy, and build your way up.
Proper gear- make sure the gear that you used last year is up for the wear and tear this season will bring (hint: check the soles of your shoes and the brakes on your bikes).
Hydration! Warmer temps and endurance exercise are a perfect combination for dehydration. Drink up, Buttercup!
Listen to your body! What is bothering you? Let's address them now with mobility and rehab exercise. Check out our Training Room!
Common early season running injury: “Shin Splints”. Take care of these by stretching your lower body prior to exercise and try cold therapy after exercise. You can also check out THIS video on shin splints and rehab.
Common early season biking injury: Wrist pain. Try stretching prior to exercise by pushing your palm down on a table and then the back side of your hand. To strengthen, rest your arm on a table with your wrist hanging over- hold onto the base of a hammer. Only moving your wrist (keep arm on table) lift and lower the hammer in different directions.
Struggling with old injuries, aches or pains? Don’t push through it. Do call MountainFit for an injury treatment and prevention session.
