Weekend Warriors

Between work, family/friends and errands, it's understandable why weekend warriors cram all their physical activity into two days. Unfortunately, five days of inactivity, and being active on the weekend, often leads to injuries like hamstring strains, ankle sprains, Achilles tendonitis, low back and shoulder pain. To decrease chances of injury, try to maintain a basic level of fitness through general aerobic activity, strengthening and stretching throughout the week. Here are a few other tips:

• Build your activity level slowly

• Give yourself time for a proper dynamic warm up of some aerobic activity to get your heart rate up, along with high knees, butt kicks and toy soldiers

• Static stretch when you're done (not before) which research has shown to reduce soreness and help recovery

• Make sure your technique/equipment are up to par

• Don't push through pain. Some soreness after an increase in activity is normal but if it persists or gets worse, get it checked out.