MANY people spend the winter hibernating, thinking they can just pick up their athletic pursuits where they left off at the end of last summer. Wrong! The month of March might be rainy and unpredictable, but now’s the time to think about getting in shape for your spring softball leagues, golf games and pickup soccer games. And if you don’t properly prepare yourself for warm weather sports, you’re setting yourself up for potential injuries.
“Eighteen holes of golf – or playing a game of softball – doesn’t seem like much to former high school and college athletes, but as we age, jumping into these activities without doing any exercise can be a setup for injury,” says Joshua Dines, an orthopedic surgeon at the Joe DiMaggio Sports Medicine Center of the Hospital for Special Surgery in the city.
Dines recommends a three-part strategy to reduce the potential for injury when getting back into sporting activity. Always warm up, get into a consistent exercise program, and last but certainly not least, listen to your body.
Warming up could be as simple as walking on a treadmill or jumping jacks for five minutes, followed by stretching the major muscle groups.
And tempting though it might be, resist the urge to cram all this activity into a weekend. While the ideal scenario would involve getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day, those planning to do weekend athletics should strive for a minimum of three days of activity during the week, according to Dines.
The good news is that these weekday workouts don’t have to be boring; mix it up! Weight training, cardiovascular exercise, stretching, and sport-specific drills all count toward the 30-minute goal.
For both seasoned gym veterans and neophytes alike, the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine recommends using the “10 Percent Rule.” This means that when increasing your activity level, you should do it in increments of no more than 10 percent per week. This applies to both cardiovascular exercise and strength training.
For example, if you ran two miles your first week, run no more than 2.2 miles the next week. This gives your body time to acclimate to the increased demands you are putting on it with the goal of preventing injury. Even if you’re warming up appropriately, injuries can still occur. And remember, you need to listen to your body: If something hurts, stop doing it.
Dr. Rock is the director of the Non-surgical Foot and Ankle Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Reach him at drrock@nypost.com.