With the sporting season up on us and already under way, it’s time to bring out the jersey and dust off our sneakers to get back into the rhythm of training.
Beside us at Kinetic Healthcare, did you know that your spine is your number one fan?
It is your body’s central support structure that allows you to remove freely and bend with flexibility. Your spine keeps you upright and connects the different parts of the skeleton to each other, like your head, chest, pelvis, shoulders, arms and legs.
Just like the undivided attention and support you provide to your favourite sports team, your spine deserves that same attention by implementing positive spinal and fitness habits.
Here are some tips that we recommend during the sporting season:
Posture
Pay attention to that posture of yours. Are you sitting with your shoulders back and relaxed? Or are you tilting your head forward, backwards or sideways? It may not feel natural at first, or comfortable, however if you keep practicing a strong posture, it becomes a great habit.
Having proper posture is essential for your spine health, as it improves your blood flow and allows you to maintain great support for your muscles, ligaments and tendons as a result of the strong alignment.
Stretching
Like we always encourage, choose stretching over stressing! As a form of physical exercise, you are targeting specific muscles and tendons to deliberately flex or stretch it to improve your flexibility.
Whilst stretching once today won’t magically give you the perfect flexibility, it does help you maintain and increase your range of motion in your joints. Stretching helps to avoid muscle damage and overall allows you to perform at your best.
Training
Many athletes might not continue their strength programs in season, often due to time restraints or worry of soreness and fatigue. Let’s say you take off three months from your resistance training for example. Unfortunately, you are at risk of losing that previous strength you were working on and decrease joint stability. This can lead to a higher chance of injury and we wouldn't want you to be in that vulnerable position.
We encourage you to continue your strength training but instead, incorporate deload weeks or decrease the weight to ensure you are actively recovering during the sporting season.
Who else is excited for the sporting season? If you have any questions or would like a tune during your season, book in with Kinetic Healthcare!