How Athletes Can Stay Active During Covid

By Dr. Patrick Cohn at Peak Performance Sports, LLC.

How do you feel when your training regimen is disrupted? More importantly, what do you do when your training regimen is interrupted?

Injuries, illnesses, inclement weather, facility shutdowns and vacations are some circumstances that can disrupt an athlete's training or competing.

Uncontrollable circumstances, such as an injury, can spur several thoughts that create anxiety for an athlete and hurt their confidence.

For example, if you had a second-degree ankle sprain, you may have many questions regarding your training:

* When can I resume training?

* Will my season be over?

* Am I going to fall behind my teammates who are still training?

* Will a couple of weeks off affect my strength and conditioning?

* Will my skills decline? Will my timing be off?

* How will I be able to catch up to my teammates and how long will it take before I can compete?

When you focus on the things you cannot do because of an uncontrollable circumstance, you will feel lost and helpless.

When your training is interrupted because of an unforeseen circumstance, you can still do something to stay physically and mentally active.

Case in point, the coronavirus has turned the world upside down and has left athletes to face many unknowns. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt training and competing for every athlete throughout the world. 

The Olympics were pushed back, international competitions were halted, professional sports seasons were postponed and many college, high school and youth sports were cancelled.

Some athletes were left feeling lost and trapped in their homes without their daily training regimen, while other athletes found creative ways to train that were exciting and empowering, i.e., do research with nutrition and/or get into yoga as well as mobility and stretching.

We have learned from the pandemic that adversity can strike at any moment, causing a disruption of training. No matter what circumstances, you can always find creative ways to train.

When you focus on what you can do or what you can control, you gain a sense of empowerment, build confidence and become a more well-rounded athlete.

How to Train your Mind and Body:

Remember, there is always something you can do to improve your game when you are not practicing or playing:

*If you can't run, you can learn relaxation techniques.

*If you are injured, you can visualize performing in a competition.

*If you are stuck indoors during a snowstorm, you can do weight training.

*If you can't train, you can work on flexibility.

This is also a good time to look into mental training as well, even when you're not practising or playing. Be creative with ways to improve your game even when not practising.

If you need direction on how to stay active despite sport layoffs, please contact me at (416) 805-6155 or email me at lesley@timbol.ca so I can help you regain a sense of control, direction, focus as well as improving your game.