Last June we were vacationing at Lake Powell.  For those of you who haven’t been there, think the Grand Canyon with water – gorgeous place.  We were having a great time on the lake waterskiing, wakeboarding, surfing and everyone was getting a chance to tear it up on the water.  Well it came to my dads turn and we all wanted him to try wakeboarding – claiming it was easier to pull out of the water on a wakeboard vs. a slalom ski.  Well in his first few attempts to get up, he pulled his hamstring and it put him out of commission the rest of the trip – he wasn’t able to waterski or wakeboard for the rest of our trip.

Fast forward a year. 

Having just returned from beautiful Lake Powell it was fun to see everyone once again and this time my dad got in and pulled up on a slalom ski just like he was riding a bike.  Once he got up he did an awesome job cutting his slalom ski through the water.  It was fun seeing him experience the joy of skiing that he missed out on the year before.  So what was the difference between pulling a muscle and being able to enjoy something you love?

Proper sequencing of stretch leading up to perfoming an activity.

This year rather than having my dad jump in the cool water and try to pull up on a ski or wakeboard, we went through the proper sequence.  The sequence for his success is as follows:

1. I had him start with a little warm up – marching in place.  You can also try  jumping jacks or jogging in place for 60-120 seconds.  The key is to get your heart rate elevated a little bit.
2. Once he had warmed up a bit I had him lay down and I took him through a series of static stretches: single knee to the chest, hamstring stretch, adductor muscle stretch, quad stretch, and a piriformis stretch.  Holding stretches for 30 seconds.
3. Finally we went through some ballistic stretches: leg swing, hip circles forward and backwards, quick burst of knee to the chest to make sure he was really ready for what his body would experience in the water.

Seeing my dad out on the water successfully putting together turns on glassy water and avoiding injury was a priceless moment.

So to help prevent injury when performing any sports activity remember this sequence:

1. Warm up: 1 to 3 minutes to get the heart rate elevated and the blood pumping
2. Static Stretching: stretch each muscle you will use.  Take the muscle to where you feel a good pull and hold it for 30-60 seconds.
3. Ballistic Stretching: quick stretches – think of the sprinter before a race jumping up and pulling his knees to his chest or the swimmer on the starting block swinging his arms in a circle or across his body.  Get your body ready for whatever activity you are going to perform.

Following these 3 simple steps will help you enjoy your sport or hobby and keep you in the game. 

Please share this with your weekend warrior friends and relatives to help them avoid injury.