How to Set Yourself Up for A Successful Summer Season
Shoulder Season: How to Set Yourself Up for a Successful Summer
Spring - my favorite season! More sunshine, more warmth, days get longer. March Madness! Dusting off the bikes. Lacing up the running shoes. Getting back to the pickleball court.
As ski season nears its end and you start to transition to your warm weather sport of choice, it is important to be intentional in your preparation and training.
Why does it matter so much?
The demands of cold weather sports can vary significantly from warm weather sports. Frequently this means more repetitive stress on your joints and soft tissues. Or it may mean using muscles or muscle groups that haven’t been utilized as often or in the same way. Depending on the sport, it can also mean a higher aerobic demand. This may sound simple but it is vital to understand because of…
The SAID Principle
SAID stands for “Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands.” Over time, our bodies adapt to the stressors we subject them to. If you’ve been spending all winter using certain muscle groups for one activity, your body needs some time to adapt to any new activity. A good general guideline is that we can see meaningful improvements in neuromuscular coordination - our brain’s ability to effectively recruit muscles for a specific purpose - in as little as two or three weeks. However, true tissue adaptation - building muscle and creating resilience to stress/load within our tendons, ligaments, and joints - takes a bit longer, more like 4-6 weeks.
The Risks of Doing Too Much Too Fast
If you don’t give your body time to go through this adjustment period, you can increase your risk of developing acute soft tissue damage and overuse injury. This can negatively impact your summer season and can turn into chronic problems if unaddressed.
How to Prepare for a Summer of Sends
The best way to prevent these injuries from occurring is to gradually build your volume, regardless of your sport. For example, if you are a runner and have kept up some mileage during the winter but plan to ramp up through the spring and summer, start by increasing your current mileage by about 10% each week. If you took the winter off completely, you will want to start with a low volume and intensity - something easily within your current capability - and then once again add 10% each week. 10% is a well proven method for adding volume without overdoing it, and can be adapted for other activities such as hiking and biking.
Another great way to reduce injury risk regardless of the season is strength training. When performed properly, strength training can improve your performance and tissue capacity by promoting many beneficial adaptations. Train the major movement patterns (push, pull, squat, hinge, lunge, carry), with a mix of bilateral and unilateral work while moving in different planes (sagittal, frontal, and transverse). Even just 1-2 short sessions a week is enough to capture some of these benefits!
If you follow these guidelines you’ll be well on your way toward crushing your summer endeavors. And if you’re coming into spring with nagging injuries, don’t assume they’ll disappear when you hang up the skis. Reach out to see how Pinyon can help you get back on the right track!