After a relaxing winter, many amateur athletes put on their running shoes feeling overly motivated. How do you achieve a smooth re-entry? And what if spring fatigue intervenes?
In spring, many people’s motivation to do sports increases. However, amateur athletes should start gently again after a break.
Nurphoto / NurPhoto
The forest in spring sometimes resembles a paddock where foals have fun. Only in the forest there are people running over hill and dale. In the first warm days the motivation for training is great. Amateur athletes test their speed and check whether they are still running as fast as before winter. The faces are happy, but bright red here and there. For those who have taken it easy with sports over the winter, the following applies: don’t overdo it.
The sensible resumption of sport places the highest demands on one’s own pride and ambition. It does more harm than good to pick up where you left off in the fall. This applies to the intensity as well as the length of the training.
Dan Aeschlimann is a former professional cyclist and has been an endurance coach for over 20 years. He also trains those returning to cycling. He recommends alternating between jogging and marching at the beginning: depending on your level, start with jogging for one to two minutes, then march for three to four minutes. As fitness increases, the running phases can be lengthened, the marching sequences shortened and the number of repetitions increased.
When jogging, the body has to support its own weight with every step. “If the structure is not built up enough, it causes physical problems,” says Aeschlimann. The excessive demand not only leads to stress damage to tendons, ligaments or joints, but also causes motivation to quickly melt away.
A yoga sequence before training supports the body
To support and build the structures, Aeschlimann suggests preparing the body for the stress for ten minutes before training, for example with a sequence of yoga or gymnastics. The classic Vitaparcours is also well suited because it combines strength and endurance and trains foot and knee joints. A polysportive start to the sports year is also gentle and healthy, with swimming, cycling, jogging – if you move your body in different ways, you will quickly get going again without overloading yourself on one side.
A yoga sequence is the ideal complement to running training.
Many amateur athletes struggle with the question of how much is too much. This isn’t just a spring problem – according to studies, many hobby joggers generally run too fast. “They can’t vary their pace enough,” says Aeschlimann; they always run at the same speed, which they can maintain for around an hour and are tired afterwards. This is usually too intense and there is no training effect. Variety helps more here.
Aeschlimann recommends alternating three training sessions per week: an interval of one to two minutes of full running, then two minutes of walking, up to ten repetitions. Then a brisk run with longer intervals of four to eight minutes each, with a walking break of four minutes in between. The third run can also be a longer march.
If you do too much in the euphoria and suffer from sore muscles, you should wait it out before training again. And then first reduce the load a little.
Treadmill lovers need to learn to walk outside again
Anyone who was active in the winter but moved their running training to the fitness center also faces challenges. “Running on the treadmill is a different movement biomechanically,” says Aeschlimann, where you only need to lift your leg. The relationship to natural running must first be rebuilt in nature.
A good trick for this is to walk at a higher cadence outside, for example 180 steps per minute, which you can check with a clock on your cell phone or with a sports watch. This rhythm can be implemented in the interval training sessions mentioned above. Jumps can also be easily incorporated. Jumping forward on one leg for less trained people, one-legged jumps on stairs for more advanced people.
It is not possible to say in general terms how much performance you lose in a rather inactive winter, as the initial level is crucial. Basically, the body breaks down what it doesn’t need. For example, the capacity to absorb and utilize oxygen that he has built up through endurance training. “The body always tries to economize,” says Aeschlimann. «A trained system consumes more energy, carbohydrates, and has a better fat metabolism. If this is not required in daily use, he will remove it.”
Keeping this system running doesn’t necessarily require traditional training. According to Aeschlimann, people who spend many hours a day outside, like shepherds, have a similarly good maximum oxygen intake as Ironman athletes.
Losing weight and getting fitter: both at the same time is difficult
In spring, many amateur athletes feel the desire to get fitter and lose a few kilos of winter fat. Pursuing both goals at the same time can be dangerous. To lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume. “But if you train with a calorie deficit, you expose your body to a lot of stress,” says Aeschlimann. In the beginning, this training approach may work and you will lose weight. But the body is so stressed that the effect reverses after two to three months and the yo-yo effect sets in. If you train in a calorie deficit, you’re better off just marching.
The desire and motivation are there, but somehow you’re too tired to actually lace up your shoes? Then maybe spring fatigue is to blame. Science assumes that the lack of motivation that some people feel in spring comes from the hormonal balance and the circulatory system. The latter, because the constant change in weather and temperature puts strain on the body; People with low blood pressure are particularly affected.
In the cold and dark winter, the body also produces more of the “sleep hormone” melatonin. As soon as there is more daylight again, the level of the “happiness hormone” serotonin increases. This imbalance is noticeable in the transition phase; it takes a while until the excess melatonin is broken down.
The solution is not to rest on the sofa, but on the contrary to exercise more in the fresh air and in the light so that the circulation gets going and the hormonal imbalance is remedied.