So many people do nothing all week and then participate in sports on the weekend. These are people we refer to as “Weekend Warriors”. The problem is that so many of these weekend warriors wind up injured. Whether it is overuse injuries or something more severe, these injuries occur because of lack of conditioning, lack of warm up time or lack of strength and endurance to complete the task. I want you to understand this and to understand how to avoid these injuries. That's the purpose of this article.
- Maintain a regular routine. Don't just jump in on the weekend and expect to be a major athlete. Be sure that during the week you are consistently doing cardiovascular exercise, weight training and stretching.
- Use the right equipment. Be sure that you are using the right equipment for the activity you are performing.
- Listen to your body. People say “no pain, no gain” and that isn't correct. Discomfort is something you expect when exercising, but pain is not something you should experience. If you feel pain, stop what you are doing. This is your body's way of telling you to slow down.
- Slowly increase your activity and intensity. Don't just jump in at full crazy intensity. Start with an intensity and duration you can handle and only increase that by 10% per week.
If you happen to suffer an injury use the RICE technique on it:
- Rest the injured area.
- Ice the injured area 10 to 15 minutes throughout the day to minimize pain and swelling.
- Compress the area in some way.
- Elevate the area.
If pain persists see your doctor for further treatment.
