As we age, illnesses, injuries and other life conditions may sometimes slow us down, but, we can overcome these setbacks and continue to do the activities we love. One way is to learn concepts and practice training techniques to Play Long and Stay Strong.
Have you ever noticed that some professional athletes in non-contact sports like golf, track and field and tennis retire from their sport before expected? Despite everything appearing to be in perfect order in terms of their form, skill, nutrition, and motivation, it seems that they hang up their clubs, cleats and rackets early (disappointing their fans). A likely reason is wear and tear on their bodies.
Whether your activity is for fitness, profession or fun, repeat performance over long periods wears on the joints. You can play longer by varying the types of exercises and the timing of your training.
Sports Training Cycle
If you have participated in competitive sports in high school, college or beyond, chances are you have some level of joint degradation. When in-season, the activity continues to stress the joints. Over time, that wear and tear could become an obstacle hindering your ability to take to the track, field, rink or court. Plan your training cycle to stay in the game.
Off-Season This is the time to address injuries and to minimize the game day movements. This helps to preserve the joints affected by the movements specific to your sport. Modify your training to do different movements, increase strength and/or flexibility, and manage your weight, as needed.
Pre-Season (6 to 8 weeks before season starts) You can gradually begin doing your sports specific movements.
Fitness Training Cycle
Variety is the spice of life---and exercise. As we age, our abilities to do some movements decrease. If you have ever been beaten in your 20s by a tennis player in his 70s (and I have!), then you would have seen that the older player is using a skilled forehand and backhand, rather than doing the sprints, jumps and turns of a younger player.
Adding more variety to exercise early on will increase ability to do more movements when you get older. For example, if you are doing 50 different exercises right now, later on you may only be able to do half of those activities. If you are only doing 25 different exercises now, then as you grow older the number that you will be able to do will be even smaller. Concerned about getting enough variety in exercises? Work with a trainer to create your fitness program.
Addressing Injuries
We are painfully aware of major injuries when they occur, but, some of us tend to ignore minor injuries. Some might think, or even say, "No Pain, No Gain." I disagree; I believe it's more like "More Pain, No Gain."
We have to take care to address minor injuries. They can linger and become major injuries or affect other parts of the body and cause a domino effect of new injuries. For example, if I sprain my foot or ankle, a lack of rehabilitation will eventually affect the knee and lower back. Repairing the original injury, however minor it may seem, will lead to the gains you want in your training.
Lifelong Training
As active individuals, we want to continue to train and maintain physical activities as long as possible. Train hard and smart, and you will continue to Play Long and Stay Strong.
Contact Coach Sean to get started today!
original art credit:U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
