Spring has sprung!

There are two things you can be sure of: (1) there’s even more construction going on than usual.  And (2) people are coming out of hibernation in droves and realizing there’s only 8 weeks left to swimsuit season.

Before you put the pedal to the metal, however…a caution.  Here are three mistakes that could be the proverbial fly in your sweet fitness lemonade:

 

Too much, too soon.

I’m not naming any names but this is even truer for a certain segment of the population. Let’s just call them “men”. Seriously though, re-booting is tough.  It takes a step-by-step progressive program if you’re going to get better and do it safely. You also need to give your body time to adapt to the training load by taking “down” weeks. These weeks can include less mileage if you run or bike, lower intensity or weight loads, or just plain rest.

Slow down to go fast.

Remember the tortoise and the hare? :)

 

Under-recovering.

There’s overtraining, then there’s “under-recovery”.  Exercise is one side of a two-sided coin that includes rest.  And more than that it’s recognizing what you can do to be proactive about your recovery.

In my biased-but-accurate opinion, regular chiropractic adjustments are a must.  That’s because a well-oiled, well-functioning nervous system helps you perform at your best and heal faster.  Strong brain = strong body.

Sleep, adequate nutrition, and smart supplementation all have a role to play too.

 

Not being aligned first.

I remember when one of my great patients, Kumail, first came to me, he described this pattern: whenever he’d get in a good flow with his workouts, he’d forget to stretch as much as he needed to, and then hurt his back – needing to be out for a couple weeks.

Since we’ve been working together, not only does he rarely hurt himself in his workouts, but if he does, down time is a few days at most.

 

Bottom line, if something about your musculoskeletal structure is out of alignment, or there’s an imbalance of some kind, your nerves and nerve pathways are compromised; some areas of your body will always be weak and prone to injury.  When people suddenly exercise a lot more and don’t have the needed motor control, they either don’t see results, or drop out of the race – injured.

 

Fluid movement, on the other hand, makes it easier and more fun to be active.

Sometimes though, it’s about moderation and adaptation.  Sandy and I have spoken about the above elements many times.  We tried more recovery time, we swapped from boot camps to yoga and back, and ultimately the successful test was eliminating burpees from cross-fit.  The singular act of jumping and squatting into pushups repetitively was too much ‘attack’ for her previous disc injuries.

 

Let me help.

Ask me questions, let me be more involved with your fitness choices and desires, so we can continue a cohesive approach to protecting your nervous system.

Put healthy function first, and healing is often the result.

As for those mistakes…well, steer clear and that fitness lemonade can remain, delightfully, insect-free.