Fitness Will Help You Swing Into Spring

Contributed by Joe Bocek, Fitness Director SPORT FIT Severna Park

At last, spring is here! It seems every year the cold weather sneaks up on us. The bustle of fall and winter holidays distract us just enough that all of the sudden, POW! It’s February and COLD!!! So we bundle up and try to stay inside. For some, the short days can even be depressing. But, fear not, it is now spring! The days are longer, the sun sets later and the temperatures are rising. For many of us that means outdoor activities.

Whether your spring and summer fix is running, tennis, biking, golf, walking, gardening, water sports, hiking or any other activity, chances are you are doing it much more often now. This is fantastic because all these fun activities can keep us fit. What is surprising is how a little exercise or a little strength training and conditioning can make us better at all the activities we love to do.

We can make this as simple as: walking on a treadmill or even doing some cross training (doing two or more different activities) can increase our endurance for a hike. Or we can take it to the extreme and go for proper sport conditioning that can help us do everything from swimming better to qualifying for the Boston Marathon to lowering our score in a round of golf.

Keith Kleven, Tiger Woods’ trainer, told ESPN in an interview that Tiger’s routine“ is built around stretching up to 40 minutes before each session, core exercises, endurance runs of 7 miles and speed runs of 3 miles, along with weight training.” Wow! Sounds like a lot for just a round of golf. But keep in mind that Tiger is the greatest. The casual player, like most of us, would benefit from just a little of that. Elizabeth Quinn, an exercise physiologist writing for the Sports Medicine section of About.com says, “Golfers need to focus on technique to see improvement, but two basic components of conditioning can improve your golf fitness and reduce your risk of injury. The two areas to focus on include core strength/stability and flexibility exercises.”

The same can be said for tennis. The United States Tennis Association tells us on their website that “A properly designed strength and conditioning program can help any player elevate his or her game to a new level.” No matter if you are looking to have more left in your tank at the end of games or add a little spring to your step, exercise can help.

The list of benefits for different sports and activities ranges from doing moderate exercise to sport-specific strength and conditioning - the full list is too long for this article! Physical activity is vitally important to our health and well-being, and sports are a large part of everyday life. However, we often miss the importance of conditioning and regular strength training.

If you are looking for properly designed strength and conditioning workouts, I strongly recommend meeting with a Certified Personal Trainer to ensure reduced risk of injury and effective workouts. However, anyone can start down the path to a better year outdoors by just adding a little exercise. Many people are surprised to find how just a little extra, whether it’s in the gym or not, can go a long way.