It has been way too long since we have been able to participate in the recreational sports we love.  This season we will see a RUSH  back to these activities we have missed so much. But what does that mean for our bodies?

At our clinic, we are seeing young athletes who all went back to training and competing this spring. While great for your physical and mental health, it can be the perfect storm for injuries and even some serious health issues. For example, ER doctors are preparing for the worst-case scenario when men’s recreational hockey starts back, anticipating a higher incidence of cardiovascular incidents such as heart attacks!

Top 3 Exercises  

1. To improve your core and gluts in a dynamic setting, try a plank with leg lifts. Throughout the pandemic, we have been spending a little extra time on our glutes. It’s important to strengthen them as they are a big support system for our body. This dynamic plank is a perfect way to engage your glutes and ease movement back into your body.

2. To improve your ankle proprioception and strength, try a reverse lunge with a heel lift. This exercise is extremely important for balance. Over the pandemic, we have spent a lot of time inside on stable ground making it important to re-train our balance and prevent injury.

3. To improve your lateral movements and visual coordination, try a lateral jump and then catch a ball. We have been moving forward and backwards a lot during the pandemic, but not laterally. This exercise is an easy way to work on ankle stability as well as hand-to-eye coordination that will be essential when you start playing sports again.