Autumn is well and truly with us and it will very soon be winter! This time of year especially is very important to make sure your muscles are properly warmed up before you begin any activity that places them under stress or strain.
Both the cold and wet weather also impact on our muscles in a way that unless we use them effectively, will become more prone to injuries, cramps and strains.
The best way to explain this is to imagine a ball of plasticine that has been in the fridge. When you take it out it feels cold, hard and stiff to try to mould. Well this is just how our muscles respond to the cold. When it’s cold we naturally tense up and our muscles become shortened and are therefore less pliable and less supple. Warming our muscles with some simple exercises for just 5 minutes beforehand can make the difference from becoming injured or not. Without warming up means it can take longer to get into our natural and normal flow.
When I play golf, it never ceases to amaze me when waiting on the first tee, stretching every muscle group, watching other players arrive on to the tee, take a practice swing then put their heart and soul into their very first shot only to be in disbelief it wasn’t their best! They expect their bodies to perform with full mobility, flexibility and suppleness, whilst their muscles are feeling like they’ve just got out of bed!
Golfers aren’t the only sportsmen at fault. Lots of other sports and activities have athletes and players that hardly give a thought to warming up. It is so short sighted because if you plan and count your warm up as part of your activity, it takes up such little time, especially when compared to the time you are likely to be off when you become injured through not warming up properly.
The other important aspect to winter training that often gets abandoned is hydration. We still sweat even when it’s cold so we need to keep on top of our water intake no matter how tempting the coffee and hot chocolates are! Dehydrated muscles can quickly and easily become much more prone to injury so don’t neglect hydration. Even hot Ribena will be a good alternative to just plain water or tea/coffee. Tea and coffee, along with alcohol are actually what are known as being “diuretic” that stimulate increased urination that in turn can speed up dehydration. Back to water, try not to drink it ice cold because it is better for the body to absorb when it is at room temperature.
What you wear during sport and exercise during the winter is also very important because you should never start when you are cold. So make sure that you wear the right clothing by layering up from the start. By layering up first, you start warm and as you get warmer you can then take layers off as appropriate.
Coupled with warming up, a proper stretching regime is another way to help fend of niggling injuries. Look out for my next blog where I will be covering stretching in more detail and showing you some typical stretches for the major muscle groups.