Preparing for Spring Sports
As the weather turns warmer, many sports enthusiasts will begin hitting the trails, courses and fields for spring athletics. Before they do, there are some steps they should take to get ready for action. After a long winter of sitting on the couch, jumping right back into vigorous athletics can lead to an early, season ending injury. A careful approach, including a sensible pre-season training program, can help keep an athlete in the game, and out of the doctor's office. Here are some important components of a pre-season conditioning program:

After a long off season, most recreational athletes will lose muscle strength. Resuming sports in this condition will leave the participant vulnerable to a wide variety of injuries, including muscle strains, muscle tears, tendon and/or ligament injuries. However, those risks can be reduced if the athlete prepares for the season with resistance training to regain lost strength. Supervised weight training, whether generalized or sports-specific, will restore muscle strength, and reduce the risk of injury.

Just as a winter spent on the sofa can lead to a loss of strength, winter inactivity will also result in loss of flexibility. Regular stretching sessions, two or three times per week, can restore optimum flexibility, and reduce the risk of early season injury. If general stretching is too dull, taking yoga classes is an excellent way to regain both strength and flexibility, while keeping things interesting.

An important component for most spring sports is endurance. A pre-season walking/running program can help increase endurance and cardiovascular capacity after a winter season of inactivity. For individuals who have been completely sedentary over the winter, a 30 minute walk is a good starting point for a cardiovascular training program. After a couple of easy walking sessions, interval walking/running can be employed to further improve heart and lung capacity. The ultimate goal of the program should be to increase the running intervals and maximize the athlete's endurance.

With Spring on the way (followed by summer and bathing suit season), an athlete's focus should turn to proper nutrition. The goal for all sports participants is to provide the body with enough healthy calories, vitamins and macronutrients to sustain optimum energy and performance. Refined carbohydrates and sugars should be curtailed or eliminated from the diet. Green vegetables, fruits and lean meats should make up the vast majority of an athlete's training meals. Following these general guidelines will promote muscle gains when weight training, and fat loss from cardiovascular training.

Participating in outdoor Spring sports requires more preparation than does playing indoor sports. Care should be taken to dress appropriately for the day's conditions, with an emphasis on using layers of moisture wicking apparel to stay warm and dry in early Spring. Use of sunscreen is important as well, even early in the season, to protect the athlete from long term skin damage.