Spring Back Into Your Exercise Program

After a long, lazy winter, the key is to start off slow.

The sunny days of spring are right around the corner. You may be aching to get outside and get a taste of spring by jogging a few miles, teeing up for a round of golf, or playing a few sets of tennis. It is important to prepare your body for your exercise program -- If you've been less active for a while, see your doctor before you start any new exercise program. "The 'no pain, no gain' mentality doesn't work – so put your pride in the back seat and take it slow.

Try to schedule your yearly exam to correspond with the start of spring, so you can get a clean bill of health and tell your doctor you are going to start gearing up your activity level. After your doctor signs off on your health, start with a slow exercise program -- an easy walking regimen and a stretching routine will help prepare you for most casual sports, like jogging, golf and tennis.

If you have taken the winter off, start your spring training by walking for 10 minutes every day or every other day for a week, and then the next week, walk for 15 minutes. From there, work your way up by 5-minite interval each week to a 30-40 minute walk. And stretch as well, using a proper technique -- which means don't bounce.

This may be a lot slower than most people want to go, however after about a month of conditioning, you'll have built up enough flexibility and endurance to move forward with a more strenuous exercise program.

Ready for Round One?
When you are ready to take your first jog or play your first game of the season, take it easy. A good starting point is to begin at a level that is manageable using common sense, and underestimate your ability. You regress a tremendous amount over the winter if all you present to your body is a chair at work during the day and a couch at night and on weekends. If you then go out and try to exercise right off the bat, you put your body at risk for some form of an overuse injury.

Golfers should start practicing at the driving range with slow and easy swings, and work their way up to a faster swing. Golfers, should also incorporate stretching and strengthening into their exercise program to target the lower back, trunk, and arms, and should prepare for walking on uneven ground.

Tennis players, should concentrate their exercise program on the upper body -- work on stretching and strengthening the shoulders and arms, and should prepare their bodies for the stop-and-go pivoting and sprinting actions of tennis. Don’t go out and serve the ball 100 times on the first nice day of the season, because you run the risk of an injured rotator cuff or elbow tendon. It is doing too much, too soon.

Joggers should start an exercise program with a walking regimen and from there; try to improve either their speed or mileage by about 10% a week. Jogging 10% faster every week, or increasing your mileage by 10% a week, is usually a safe way to go.

Preventing Pain and Strains

This all sounds like a lot of work before you even start the spring sports season. But without the right exercise program and plenty of preparation, you're at risk for injury. The most common injury is muscle soreness. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, if you over do it remember “RICE”

  • Rest
  • Ice
  • Compression (with an elastic bandage)
  • Elevation

this will usually lessen the damage. If the muscle pain lingers, then have it checked out by your physician.
There's a lesson here: After you prepare your body for spring sports, then spend the warm-weather months healthy and active, don't let it all go to waste by hibernating next winter. Stay strong for the next warm-weather sports season, so you don't have to start that exercise program all over again. And next spring? That exercise program will be second nature.

Do you have any other questions for the staff at Denver-Vail Orthopedics? Contact us through our easy to use online form