I can always tell spring is here by the number of exercising pedestrians I see darting past my window. In fact, I wasn't even sure my neighbors were still alive until they came out of hibernation (along with the rest of us), in the last few weeks. One neighbor squinted at me and wondered, "What's that big yellow thing in the sky?"
"The sun," I assured her, though I had to Google it to make sure.
Seeing all the runners and bikers, the walkers and skaters, the near painful excitement of getting to go outside is one of my favorite parts of spring. My least favorite? Getting injured in all that excitement.
This can easily happen if you haven't been exercising all winter, or even if you're simply changing your workouts to match the weather. Weekend warrior syndrome is all too common this time of year as we rush outside, hoping to make up for lost time with hours of outdoor exercise your body is not ready for (and it will tell you in oh-so-many painful ways).
It's important to give your body time to get used to outdoor exercise again by easing into your workouts. Start small...say, a half hour of walking or an hour on your bike rather than the all-day affair you were planning. You can always work your way up to more and your body will thank you.
What about you? Do your workouts change with the seasons? Do you tend to exercise more now that the weather is warmer and, if so, how do you avoid overdoing it? Tell me about your spring workouts.
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