Returning to Sport After Summer: Is Your Body Ready?
Returning to Sport After Summer: Is Your Body Ready?
September is a time when many people get back into a regular routine. For athletes, that often means returning to rugby, football, running, gym training and other sports after a quieter summer.
You might feel fit, motivated and ready to get straight back into full training. But feeling fit doesn’t always mean your body is ready for the demands of your sport.
After a period of reduced activity, your body needs time to readapt to the loads involved in training and competition.
Why can returning to sport increase injury risk?
Your body adapts to the demands you regularly place on it. When training reduces over the summer, your exposure to high-speed running, sprinting, jumping, landing, changes of direction and contact may also decrease.
Going straight back into your previous training volume and intensity can therefore represent a significant increase in workload.
This doesn’t mean you need to avoid training. It means how you build your training back up matters.
How should you return to training after a break?
A gradual increase in training load allows your body to progressively adapt.
Consider the following:
Build your volume gradually
Rather than immediately completing full training sessions at your previous level, gradually increase the amount of training you are doing.
Reintroduce intensity
High-speed running, sprinting and explosive movements place greater demands on your muscles and tendons. These should be progressively introduced.
Prepare specifically for your sport
Being able to run continuously doesn’t necessarily mean you’re prepared for repeated sprints, changes of direction, jumping or contact. Your preparation should reflect the demands of your sport.
Build strength and capacity
Strength training can help develop the physical capacity required to tolerate the demands of training and competition.
Monitor how your body responds
Don’t only consider how you feel during training. Pay attention to how you feel over the following 24–48 hours. Persistent pain, swelling, increasing stiffness or a noticeable drop in performance may indicate that your current training load needs to be adjusted.
You don’t need to be injured to seek advice
Physiotherapy isn’t only for when something goes wrong.
If you’ve had a break from training, are returning to sport or simply want to know whether your body is ready for the demands of your season, an assessment can help identify areas that may need attention before they become a problem.
At CP Clinic, our team can assess your individual needs, whether you’re managing an injury, returning after a break or simply want to make sure your body is ready for the demands of your sport. We can provide personalised advice and rehabilitation to help you get back to performing at your best.
Returning to sport this September? If you’re unsure whether your body is ready, contact CP Clinic to find out how we can help.
