Help! Sports training in starting back and I’m out of shape!
Planned to get in the shape of your life during lockdown but spent most of your time on Zoom quizzes instead?
Some sports have restarted but if you’re not back to training yet then listen up- over the coming weeks we will discuss evidence–based i.e. actual science (not bro science) recommendations about the best way to return to sport, reduce injury and make the most of the sporting season.
We will look into how you can keep your hamstrings in top condition, how to bulletproof your groin, how to keep your knee joints happy, how to prevent the dreaded ACL injury and even how strengthening your neck helps to prevent head injury/concussion!
Feeling a bit deconditioned?
If you’re used to training at high intensity and have been taking a bit of a break over lockdown then it’s a good idea to prepare your body before getting back to sport full steam ahead. Hopefully you’ve kept up some activity- even small amounts relative to your normal training volume can cut your losses significantly.
So I won’t have to start from zero again?
There is a lot of research over the past ten years looking into just that; and the good news is that not only does it take quite a few months to lose muscle strength and fitness back to untrained levels… but we know that when you start training again you can make up what you lost in half the time.
We recommend taking at least 6 weeks to reintroduce your body to sport- starting with low to medium intensity training for a few weeks then gradually increasing the intensity and progressing towards sport specific movements (like changing direction & sprinting for footballers, or lunging for badminton players)
Also if you have any previous injuries then you’ll need to pay extra attention to these as you return to training, we’ll discuss how in the coming blog posts.
Great- when can I start!?
Now! With news coming out all the time of more sports returning then it’s a good idea to get ahead of the curve and start training as soon as possible. Start with conditioning and check back here for more great ideas… here’s a sneak peek at things to come…
Blog Post by…
Fiona Robertson
BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy MCSP
