Pre Season is back - Easy does it!

December 04, 2019

The time has come for a return to football training for another gruelling pre season. For some, football season is a distant memory having missed out on finals in 2019, for others it might feel like footy season has only just finished after a long finals campaign. We are going to try and give you a few practical tips to make sure these first few weeks back are injury free and enjoyable.

So how is it best to approach this? Throw yourself head on into all of the running, drills and skill work or ease yourself back in?

The answer to this is probably dependent on how you have been spending your time off since season 2019 concluded. If you are one of those people who has been diligent in keeping up with their running and strength work throughout this time, you will probably have maintained your conditioning to a level where you can handle just about anything the coaches throw at you. If however, you have taken the time since football to enjoy some time off from exercise filled with footy trips, presentation nights and thinking about just about anything other than footy, you might need to approach things slightly differently!

Tips:

1. Don’t go bull at a gate – if you are coming in a bit underdone its best to ease back into things. Injuries will often occur due to spikes in load. As tempting as it is to jump straight back in as if you had never left, going from nought to 100 is fraught with danger
2. Don’t neglect strengthening – Pre seasons are tough. The running load is high as you try to get yourself as fit as you can to attack season 2020. It is important to not add in additional running sessions at the detriment of your strength training. The reality is, the stronger you are, the less chance you will have of injuring yourself throughout the season. 
3. Listen to your body – if you have something that is niggling away every time you train, just remember that it is only November. Don’t try to push through it so that it becomes something that is harder to address down the track. You have a long road before season 2020 even starts. It is a good idea to nip this in the bud – have it assessed by a Physiotherapist so that a good, individualised plan can be made to get you right.

Hopefully these very simple tips will help you survive the initial weeks of pre season – getting through that training block before the Christmas break is important to setting yourself up for a successful and injury free upcoming season!

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