Okay folks, let’s talk offseason training and how not to wreck yourself before next season. Learned this the hard way myself – couple years back, pushed way too hard early summer, ended up nursing a grumpy shoulder and a tweaked knee for weeks. Dumb. This summer? Doing things smarter. Here’s what actually happened this week.
The Gear Shuffle & Baseline Checks
First things first, dragged my old workout mat and some dusty resistance bands out from the garage corner. Almost tripped over my kid’s soccer ball doing it. Got the space cleared – kinda. Shoved the couch back an extra foot. Good enough.
Went digging for that instruction sheet the physio gave me after last season’s shoulder nonsense. Found it stuck in a cookbook (don’t ask). Read it over. Actually read it this time, not just glanced. Noticed it basically screamed: “Don’t be an idiot, build up slowly.” Okay, fine. Point taken.
Starting Slow (Like, Really Slow)
Monday morning – motivation high. Told myself: Today is about moving, not maxing out.
- Did like, 5 minutes of walking around the driveway, swinging my arms kinda loose. Felt silly, but whatever.
- Spent another 10 minutes stretching, holding things longer than I used to. That tight hamstring still complained. Noted that.
- Picked up the lightest resistance band. Did those shoulder exercises from the physio sheet. Did 15 reps, not 50. Shoulder felt… okay. No sharp bite. Win.
- Squatted down real slow, no weight, just body. Felt the quads engage. Stood up slow. Repeated. Felt solid.
- Plank time? Held it, breathed, quit before shaking like crazy. Maybe 20 seconds? Honest seconds.
Felt afterwards: Surprisingly decent. Not wiped out, just… worked. Biggest win? Zero new aches the next morning. Unheard of!
Listening (For Once) & Building
Wednesday rolled around. That old itch to just go hard came back. Ignored it. Seriously, just told myself “Nope.” Remembered how much it sucked limping around last year.
- Added a few more reps to the band exercises. Shoulder still felt smooth, good sign.
- Tried slightly less band tension on the rows. Back felt strong.
- Did those slow squats again, but held for a second longer at the bottom. Felt the muscles fire differently.
- Threw in 5 push-ups on my knees. Yeah, knees. Keepin’ it humble. Triceps woke up.
- Plank? Pushed to 25 seconds. Collapsed. But progress.
Mid-session thought: “This actually feels… controlled?” Weird. Normally I’m gasping by now.
The Big Takeaway (So Far)
Honestly? Feels boring sometimes. My old self is screaming to lift heavy junk or sprint like a maniac. But the key is this: No news is good news. No sudden twinges in the shoulder. Knee feels stable stepping off curbs. Back isn’t locking up after sitting.
It’s about building bricks, not throwing up a whole wall in one day and hoping it sticks. One careful step at a time. Feels slower, sure. But feels way smarter than limping into tryouts because I got impatient in June. Still early days, but so far, so good. And functional. That’s the offseason win.
