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| Home > Healthy People > April 2004 |
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Spring 2004
Are your muscles ready for spring exercise?
After months of freezing and near-freezing temperatures, when the first
warm day hits, most people are ready to get outside for a hike, jog or
bike ride. But if you've been a couch potato all winter long, you may need
to start spring exercise slowly to prevent injuries, say St. John's
fitness experts.
 "Injuries during spring exercise occur because of sedentary way of life
during the winter. Warm weather hits and people want to hit the outside,"
says St. John's/SMS Midwest Sports Medicine’s Certified Athletic Trainer
Laura Ross. "You set yourself up for injury because your muscles are not
equipped to handle that new range of motion that you are putting them
through. It is extremely important to develop flexibility ideally
throughout your entire body, but specifically for your lower body."
Gradually reestablish your warm-weather exercise routine, Ross says.
Vigorous exercise like tennis, or even power-walking should slowly be
re-introduced into daily activities.
Warming up and cooling down before and after exercise is also important,
says St. John's Fitness Centers' Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness
Instructor Charlene Blacksher.
"A big priority should be stretching, before and after whatever you are
doing. Muscles that are not active
during the winter need to be stretched so that there is less of a chance
for injury," Blacksher says. She warns that despite proper stretching, you
probably will be sore if you go from a sedentary lifestyle to strenuous
exercise.
"If you use muscles you haven't used in a while, your body will tell you
that," she says.
Proper workout gear, especially shoes with good support, play a role in
preventing injuries. Choose a shoe that's specially designed for the
exercise you perform most often.
Besides stretching, flexibility, and good shoes, what you put in your body
also has a direct impact on what you can get out of it.
"Diet has a huge impact on what you do physically. Proper hydration is
important for everyone, but especially for athletes," Blacksher says.
St. John's Fitness Centers have locations in Springfield and Nixa with
personal trainers on hand to design an exercise program just for you. For
more information, call 417-887-9868 or visit them on the Web at
www.stjohns.com. If you have an athletic injury and would like a personal
consultation with one of St. John's/SMS Midwest Sports Medicine's
certified athletic trainers, please call 417-888-7990.
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