Spring Training Fitness Tips

I’ve started to see an increase in the attendance in the athletic centres that I coach in. With spring now in full swing, people are making preparations in anticipation of a fitness filled spring and summer. If you hadn't been active through the winter, I think that it’s important that you progressively work your way into a new routine… opposed to going at 110% at the start of the season, getting injured, or even worse: getting burned out before you get into a regular groove. 

Keeping the gradual approach in mind, here’s some other spring training tips… I looked around on the net to see what the some of the other coaches were saying, and I kept finding the same old fitness tips (cut and paste) – so hopefully you will find these thoughts fresh to help put some ‘spring’ in your early season training.

1) Recovery: Many underestimate how tiring a new program can be. It will get easier. Trust me. But to get more out of your training, make sure you allow yourself to get the best recovery possible to be ready for your next session. 

• Rest – Deep Sleep, and preferably 7 – 9 hours of interrupted zzz’s per night.

• Stretch - all large muscle groups – at least 15mins per day (or more). Or participate in Yoga, or seek a professional practitioner for myofascial assisted stretch. Witnessyourfitness.ca

• Meditate – for 20 mins at least once per week. Visualize your passions and focus carefully on actualizing your athletic achievements. Be detail oriented in your meditation; try to think of every facet from tying your laces, putting on your helmet, to the details of your performance including every smell, sound, and action. 

• Hydrate – Drink water. Plain and simple. The right amount of hydration is different for everyone; however the most scientific measure that I’m aware of is 1ml for every calorie of your BMR (Basil Metabolic Rate). For instance a typical BMR for a 65kg woman is about 1350 cal/day. That person would therefore aim to drink 1.3L of fluids to keep up their hydration for the day.

• Refuel – there is a 20 minute window after training for your body to best absorb nutrients. Try to eat a well-balanced meal as soon after training as possible.

2) Protect your Skin: the sun is coming, and its rays can be harmful to you if you plan to spend extended periods outdoors. Your skin is largest organ on your body and protecting is very important, and by putting chemicals and harmful substances on your body, you can be quite counterproductive. To find out about the world’s best skin care for sun screen, children’s sun screen, cosmetics, hair care, nutritionals and anti-aging products that are Pure, Safe and Beneficial try Arbonne. click www.johannahunt.myarbonne.ca. Arbonne is also 100% vegan, botanical, no animal testing, and gluten free.

3) Dress for success: yes seriously! “Enclothed Cognition” is a theory that established that participants who dressed the part performed better and had more attention to detail when completing tasks according to the Journal of Experimental Psychology. What this means is that we perform better on tasks depending on our own impression of the clothes we are wearing at the time. So if you feel better, or feel like you are looking more athletic in your fitness attire, you will be more motivated to work towards your goal.  It’s a great excuse to purchase those new sneakers, Lululemon outfit, or nike track suit you’ve been coveting in order to get your spring training in gear. ( ha,ha pun intended) 

Happy Trails ~ CH