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Getting ready for summer sports Summer is here and you've been invited to a weekend of golf, waterskiing and softball. But after a winter of putting off getting into shape you've now run out of time. Now what are you going to do? Well there's still hope. The trick, according to the experts, is to start small. “The first thing to do is to start slowly,” says Rhonda Shishkin, the head therapist of the University of Saskatchewan's Huskie athletics teams. “Try doing a number of things a little bit at a time.” Doris Gerrand, the volunteer coordinator at the Regina YMCA, agrees. “The idea that you've got to walk before you run is really what this is all about,” Gerrand says. “One of the biggest problems in seasonal fitness is that people push themselves too fast and too hard. They end up with a lot of pain and then they stop.” There are two seasonal waves in fitness according to Gerrand - in January and in spring. “In January, it's the New Year's resolutions and in the spring it's people wanting to look good in a bathing suit,” she explains. And it's during these fitness waves when seasonal athletes end up getting hurt. After a long winter of not doing any exercise they decide to get too active, too fast. It isn't only the weekend warrior athlete who needs to prepare for summer fun. To really enjoy the annual company tournament even a small exercise routine is going to help. A manageable and not too intimidating warm-up for even a once-a-year athlete is walking. “Just going for a walk at a brisk tempo will help get you ready. Keep increasing the tempo each day,” Gerrand says. “Some days switch off to cycling to add some cross training to your plan.” Don't forget to stretch If you suddenly find the company ball tournament is tomorrow and you still haven't done any fitness preparation, you can still do something to avoid injury. First try not to over exert yourself; then stretch before and after the event. A good stretch can really help avoid that next-day soreness that often accompanies seasonal activities say both Gerrand and Shishkin. “Flexibility is the most forgotten part of fitness. We always hear about cardiovascular but flexibility is often left out,” Gerrand says. “The more flexible you are, the less prone you are to injury.” And to get flexible you need to stretch. Depending on the sport, certain stretches will help more than others. Even for golf, stretching should become part of the pre-game warm up. At a minimum, golfers should take a brisk walk and do overhead arm and shoulder stretches and back stretches, Gerrand recommends. Shishkin suggests a 15 minute stretch before and after all activities. When stretching you should feel the tightness, then hold it for 30 seconds; use a controlled stretch - bouncing is out - and stretch to your limit but not to the point of pain, she says. Use proper equipment If you do end up sore, it isn't always because you jumped into something too fast - that soreness could be something more serious than sore muscles. That's why Shishkin recommends taking lessons when starting a sport. An expert can help you learn or correct technique and will also determine if your equipment is right for you. “If I have someone come in with a sore arm and they just started playing tennis a few weeks ago, I'm going to ask about their equipment.” Shishkin says. “If you are sore you should go to physio early. Sometimes people come in after six months of pain and that's often too late. If they came in earlier they could have avoided a lot of pain.” A borrowed set of golf clubs could be the wrong length, have the wrong grip or be the wrong weight for you and each of these factors can lead to injury. A professional is going to recognize when equipment is wrong for you as well as recognize mistakes in technique that can lead to injury. And proper fitting equipment is not hard to find. “There's equipment out there that is going to fit you that's not going to break the bank,” Shishkin says about many people's excuse for using poorlyfitting sports equipment - whether it's golf, tennis or softball. Start slowly and increase daily If you haven't been active for a while, getting ready is going to hurt. You're going to be using body parts that you haven't been using for a while, but you can make it hurt less by using the time you have left to prepare your body for the activity, Gerrand says. “In the time you have before your activity, start with short walks then build up the distance and then start doing things a little quicker each day,” she suggests. At work you can use the stairs instead of taking the elevator and take walks at break time to build up strength and cardio, she adds. After work, go walking one day and the next day go jogging and then take a bike ride the following day. The variety can help you prepare your entire body, Shishkin says. Shishkin uses a 10 per cent rule for gradual improvement. If you are completing your goal comfortably, it's time to increase either the intensity of the activity or the length of activity by 10 per cent. She finds the 10 per cent increase is manageable by most people. She also says activities can take place in short durations throughout the day. Cross train “By breaking down and mixing up your activities during the day, your body still gains - from the total time you spend and from the variety of what you did,” adds Shishkin. “You can add up all of your little short bursts for a daily total. It all counts.” Each activity uses your muscles a little differently. By taking a 10 minute walk to work in the morning, then a 15 minute bike ride later in the evening, you can add that time up as well as get a more varied work out, she says. And it's not just the summer sports that should be worked up to - even a weekend of gardening can be a strain on a body. “You're going to be doing a lot of bending and lifting in the garden and if you're not ready - you're going to feel it,” says Shishkin. “A lot of people go out and garden for three hours and then the next day find they can't move. At a bare minimum people should be stretching before and after working in the garden. “During the winter how many times did you do the kind of lifting that you do in the garden in one day?” Shishkin asks. “During a working day in the garden, you can easily bend and lift 50 times.” Drink a lot of water As well, it's important to remember that activity is not just going to use up your muscle power it's going to use up your body fluids too. Remember to take time to drink some water. Dehydration leads to injuries not only from fatigue but most frequently as muscle pulls and cramps. Shishkin reminds us that gardeners also need to think about replenishing body fluids. “People often don't think about dehydration when they are working in the yard or garden,” she says. “But it's the perfect place and time to take a break and have a drink of water on the deck. If you are feeling thirsty, you are already dehydrated.” And after spending an active, healthy summer most people will want to continue that lifestyle all year long, says Gerrand. Gerrand hopes to lead people to put an end to eating fatty, fast foods then lead people to setting more fitness based lifestyle goals for the winter months. “It's what comes out of fitness,” she says “Overall it's the increased strength and health that you develop while doing sports that lead to a better all-around life.” “I want to help people to get healthy and then help them keep a healthy lifestyle,” Gerrand says. “Once you start feeling good about what you are doing it gets easier and easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle.” Tips for Preparing for Summer Sports
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