As the snow and ice start to melt away, what’s left behind is grass that is getting greener, flowers poking out of the ground and the reminder that your spring training is about to begin. That said, just because the season is right, it doesn’t mean that your body is prepared to simply hop back into all the sports and physical activity you were into last summer.
Get your spring training started on the right foot this year, by taking the right steps to ensure that you’ll be getting your best level of performance and will avoid injury at the same time. The earlier you get started in preparing, the better. So as soon as you start thinking about getting active outside, it’s time to begin your preparations.
The following are the best things that you can do to get ready for spring training:
Book a physical – the first thing you need to do is get to know what you’re working with. That starts with an appointment with your doctor. Make sure to check up on your blood pressure, cholesterol, vitamin and mineral levels and overall fitness level. You can also ask your doctor about the ways you can get back into fitness again if you’ve been relatively inactive over the winter.
Be realistic and set your goals – unless you set goals then you don’t really know what it is you want to achieve. Give yourself something to aim for. Make it challenging but make it realistic.
Create a schedule – once you know your goals, tell yourself how you plan to achieve them. Don’t just plan to do something general such as thirty minutes of cardio six days per week. If you do that, you’ll find yourself feeling like you’re failing sooner rather than later. Instead, write a schedule down on a calendar and have it send reminders to your phone or post it somewhere that you’ll see it and acknowledge it all the time.
Find a buddy – when you’re training with someone else instead of working alone, you’ll find that you have much greater odds of success. You’ll be more driven to get out and complete your workouts, and while you’re out there, it will be a lot more fun. The time will pass more quickly than if you were working out alone.
Get new shoes – when you have new athletic shoes, you’ll be motivated to wear them, you’ll avoid injury by keeping out of last year’s beat-up pair and you’ll make sure they’re the perfect fit for you by the time you really need them when the season is off and running.
