Is your BODY ready for adventure OR will your next trip land you right back on the couch you just escaped?

If you've spent the past month on your couch, you're probably ready to hit the road on a new adventure to check out the world outside - BUT you might be in for a world of HURT if you don't transition in the right way

As local quarantines and stay-home orders begin to lift, so many folks are starting to dream and plan for their next big outing: road trips, hiking trails, renaissance faires, and conventions, just to name a few of the fun activities! And at the same time, so many folks have spent most of their quarantine days on the couch, Netflixing the days away, or sitting at the kitchen table to work from home or to work on their 30th puzzle. That combo - a month of sitting, then transitioning into a big outing activity - is a recipe for trouble

Imagine finally getting to head out of the house to do something fun, only to end up slammed with pain the next day and stuck right back on the couch you just escaped! 

I know because I've been there myself (hey, doctors are human too, and we don't always remember to follow our own advice, haha) - after binge watching 13 hours of anime on a Friday, then spending several hours on that Saturday on my feet bustling around in my craft workshop, by Sunday morning my body said "ENOUGH!" and I was slammed with pain that kept me from feeling up to doing much of anything and even kept me from thinking straight! Don't be like me!

So why is it that your body betrays you like that, just as you finally get back the freedom of doing what you love?

Doing too much, too fast -

Your body is designed to rapidly de-cellerate and pause, but it is NOT built to speed up into activity that rapidly without getting hurt. Your body still runs on its prehistoric programming that says it needs to help you survive if you come nose to nose with Mama Bear: back then, you would need to freeze and stay hunkered down and hidden for a while until Mama Bear decided your back yard was no longer an interesting hunting ground. And if you needed to suddenly switch from Pause Mode to OMG Run Mode to get away from Mama Bear if she found your hiding spot, your body would let you take off and run far and fast AND it would NOT bring to your attention the warning signs that you might be damaging yourself as you flee because that would only slow you down. There would be time the next day, once you woke up and realized you were safely away from Mama Bear, to assess how you mucked yourself up and do damage control

Now that we're living in the 21st Century - our bodies still operate this way! That's why you can go from Doing All The Things to doing nothing very easily, but when you flip it and go from doing nothing to Doing All The Things overnight, your body will typically let you do that for 1 or 2 days and then it will say "ENOUGH!" and give you your damage report in the form of pain that stops you in your tracks

What can you do to prevent the pain and enjoy your new-found freedom to adventure?

Take small steps to transition into your adventure activity

Want to go on a big road trip? Sitting in your car's cabin is much more stressful on your body than sitting on your couch or kitchen chair, so 2 weeks before your big road trip adventure, start out with a shorter drive first of just 20-30 minutes. A day or two later, take a drive that's a little longer. And keep gradually increasing your road trip durations over those 2 weeks until your big trip. This steady transition will help keep you from feeling broken down the day after your excursion

Want to go on a nice long hike? Build up to it over the 2 weeks before you head out - building up both your duration as well as your aclimation to your gear. Start by skipping your hiking boots and lace up your walking shoes instead, and take a short walk on Day 1, a little longer walk on Day 2, and a little longer yet on Day 3. Then take walks on the next 3 days while wearing your hiking boots, with each day's walk a little bit longer than the day before. Take gradually longer walks on the next 3 days after that while wearing your hiking boots AND your empty pack, because your body moves differently with a pack on, even if it has nothing in it. The next 3 days, take gradually longer walks with your pack loaded. And finish out your 2 week prep by taking walks in your boots, wearing your loaded pack, while trecking across uneven ground. A slow and steady build-up like this is a wise way to help you be able to enjoy the outdoors after your big hike, instead of ending up trapped back inside nursing the pain from doing too much too fast

And don't forget to stretch each day to help your body be ready to take on your Day of Doing - go here for Stretches for Travel and Adventure to start your adventure on the right foot

Your body is designed to transition to Pause Mode rapidly, but switching from Pause to GO too fast can leave you hurting the next day - and trapped right back on the couch you had finally gotten free of. Instead, take the 2 weeks before your next adventure to gradually build up to the activity you're looking forward to doing. And make sure to stretch to keep your body ready for travel and adventure

So what adventure are you looking forward to going on next?

Here's to your joy and a life at your best,

~Dr. Vicky