5 questions to determine your physical preparedness to return to pre-lockdown activities
As we get ready to transition back into our regular exercise routines and start thinking more about return to sport or structured activity we must consider whether we are physically ready to get started again.
1. Are you strong enough?
Simply put, not being strong enough for a given activity is the #1 risk factor for becoming injured. Strains, sprains and tears can all be attributed to a lack of strength. Maintaining your strength without a gym is difficult, but not impossible. For those who have been disciplined enough to maintain a full body strengthening program geared towards the physical demands of their leisure, you now reap the reward of being able to return to your sport with a reduced risk of injury.
2. Is your aerobic fitness up to par?
Not only will poor aerobic fitness lead to poor performance, it will also lead to poor coordination and, you guessed it, weak muscles. A fatigued muscle will be much more likely to lead to a variety of injuries. For many activities, simply walking to get your 10,000 steps will not keep you near fit enough to return to sport right away.
3. Are you appropriately scaling your return to sport?
In the best of circumstances, with a full off-season of preparation, no athlete would jump straight into full length games and you shouldn’t either. Dramatic reductions or increases in specific activities are significant risk factors for injuries. Attempting to jump straight into your previous activities will, on average, leave you wishing that you started “low and slow”.
4. Have you rehabbed any pre-lockdown injuries?
Just because you don’t feel the injury anymore because you have “rested” sufficiently, the reason you got an injury in the first place still exists. You cannot simply rest and resume activity as usual, you must take a careful approach in rehabbing not only the injury itself but the underlying deficiency that resulted in your injury in the first place.
5. Have you spoken to your Exercise Physiologist?
Exercising is not as simple as we wish it could be. Exercising injury free is a whole different game with many variables, only some of which are mentioned above. Speaking to an exercise physiologist to evaluate whether you are ready to return to your activities, how much you should do and how intense that activity should be will allow you to return to life as normal as soon as possible, without the road block of sustaining an injury.