Warm Ups

I have started running again for a few months now (for those who never knew, I was a bit of a sports junkie when I was in school) after stopping when I moved in with my in-laws. It was simply more convenient to just not do any sport at all. When I did take up running recently, I remember when I was about 11 or 12, an article came out dismissing warm ups as unnecessary and I have lived by that motto since. So the Big Kahuna told me off for not warming up before my runs and as usual I flicked my hand and went,

'pfffft I never need to warm up'
'but your body will feel it when you get older' says he in a preachy voice.

Oh yeah, now I think he's right, I forget I'm in my twenties now, from the way I behave and think, no one would be the wiser anyway haha. My left patella been giving me grief, I haven't run in 3 days and it's driving me insane. So, what I'll do today is get knee supports and some long sleeve shirts and track pants (they've nothing to do with patellar tendonitis but hey since I'm going to the shops...).

For those thinking of taking up any sport and especially anything as strenuous as running, please do warm ups, just as you should not halt activities straight after running so that your heart rate does not go from 100++ down to 70-80 in a matter of seconds, you should also build up your heart rate from its resting state. What I generally do when on the treadmill is jump on, do a fast walk for 5 minutes, then start running. When I'm running outdoors, I do the same fast walk to the park and start running. From now on, I'll do a few stretches first, build up my walk and then start running and of course use knee guards/braces, because complete tendon rupture requires surgery and that would suck.

I'm all for better quality of life and that starts by looking after your health and exercising, but let's do it properly so that the body God gave us will last us a lifetime :) Prevention is better than cure but if you do cause a problem to your joints, remember RICE:

Rest

Ice (the problematic area)

Compress

Elevate (the joint higher than your heart)

Ganbate!

Check out this website on runner's knees and warm ups

Patellar Tendonitis

Warm up

Update: I am in Malaysia until Jan 30, babysitting 'cos my parents are in Makkah, thinking of revamping my blog, that'll happen in due time, one of my gf's leaving for Europe this arvo, hope she has fun and takes care of herself, okay A? :) Will update more, ta ra~